


A Touch of Light

by AchillesLament (11Mydesign11), Destinyawakened, Identically_Different



Category: Blomsterfangen (1996), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom, The Path (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alpha Cal, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Drug Withdrawal, Eventual Smut, Gardens & Gardening, Hannibal Extended Universe, HannigramAU, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mutual Pining, New York City, Omega Max, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sacred herb, The Light, The Path-AU, Unburdening, meyerism, tagged hannigram and hannibal for AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2018-09-27 22:59:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10055759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/11Mydesign11/pseuds/AchillesLament, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destinyawakened/pseuds/Destinyawakened, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Identically_Different/pseuds/Identically_Different
Summary: Alpha and Meyerist movement leader Cal Roberts helps a homeless, drug addicted Omega named Max find refuge, by way of the Light a garden and his personal guidance. Neither one of them, however, expected to possibly find more than that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 1) Editing by us, no beta. If it's horrible, please feel free to message.  
> 2) Cal & Max are altered, just a little due to the A/b/o dynamic  
> 3) This is just a teaser, a short chapter, but there will be longer ones to come.  
> 4) Thank you for reading!
> 
> (Gifted to you_are_as_alone_as_I_am)

 

  


Running was something Cal picked up since he moved into the city to oversee the new center being built. It was a project and one he wanted to make sure went off without a hitch. Not everything was going his way, but even still, Cal pushed on as he always did. He had faith  
  
the Light would provide, as it always had and always would. Clearing his head to become one with himself, a run was the only way Cal saw he could obtain that serenity lately. The Alpha had some anger issues he really needed under control, and this was just one way of venting.

Jogging past a few homeless people and drug users passed out, Cal bent low to a few and passed out flyers for the center, inviting them to come check it out, have a meal. He was on his way past another, dark shaggy headed young man when he stopped there too, touching his knee, seeing as the Omega was asleep or passed out, he didn’t want to startle him.

“Excuse me?” he asked, quietly, brows raised, hoping to garner an answer.

"Hm? Hvad?" Max answered, waking up at the touch, groggy from all of the pot he'd smoked and other drugs. "What are you...I mean, why the fuck are you touching me? What do you want?" the Omega grumbled, his tone defensive given his sex and vulnerability, though he could handle himself. He shimmed up against the wall, and brushed his long hair out of his bloodshot amber eyes, taking in the other man.

Max had only been in the States for a few months, had picked up the English he'd been lacking in Denmark too, but hadn't found a place to live. He slept wherever he could, most nights, usually in drug dens, or with prostitutes. Escaping prison--thanks to his father's help--had been easy compared to life here.

Cal let go and smiled at the young man, trying to catch his eye. “My apologies. You look as though you could use a place to stay.” Cal handed the young Omega one of the flyers. “No obligations to stay or join in, we just want to help.”

Max took the flyer, rubbing his eyes and looked at it before he pulled out his cigarettes preparing to light one. Pausing, the Omega glanced up to meet the strangers gaze and chuckled, shaking his head. He was suspicious of this good looking Alpha, why would he want to help a nobody like himself and out of nowhere, looking nothing in return?  "So what's the catch? You said no obligations but there has to be one. You looking for an Omega to fuck and knot, or were you just looking for drugs in exchange?"

“You’ve misunderstood,” Cal said, getting to his feet, hands spread to show he wasn’t armed either, nothing forceful here. “I am a co-guardian of the Light, a movement about inner peace and self. We just want to help anyone we can. No one will bother you there about your sex.”

The young Omega stood up, and canted his head, leaning against the wall. "I don't know what the light is. I guess I did misunderstand, can't read English too good. Too fucking confusing," Max said, with a shy laugh, looking down at his feet and then back up. "I could use a place to stay. But peace...peace usually comes to me when I smoke or do a line."

“Well, we’re in to rehabilitation so you won’t need either of those things to find peace,” Cal offered, assuredly, and touched the Omega’s shoulder gently, looking him in the eye. “Think about it. Come find me there.” He patted the young man’s shoulder one and then offered his hand. “I’m Cal.”

"Max," The young Omega said in return, placing his hand in Cal's for a shake, meeting his gaze. It was intense, he thought to himself, like looking into the eye of a storm, but still calm and reassuring somehow. Rehabilitation though, that wasn't something Max was sure about, still it would mean a roof and food. _Why the hell not?_ He decided. "I don't need to think about it, I'll come."

Cal’s mouth formed a straight line, having never honestly had someone on the spot come with him, aside from disaster survivors. “Really? I-I mean great. Great…” The Alpha smiled, nodding twice, and then motioned for Max to follow. “So... this way.” He turned himself back around to adjust where they were heading, back the way he had come.

Max was young, impulsive, and sometimes idiotic when it came to decisions. Mostly, he was hungry. The munchies were a bitch. At Cal's response, the young man smiled and picked up his backpack full of...items he needed and followed. "Thanks. So what is the light? Is it an actual light or a god of some kind you all worship? I’m from Denmark and I’ve just never heard of it.”

“The Light is the Truth. It’s like God, but without the restrictions of God, does that make sense? We’re here to better ourselves, not serve one being. The Light guides us and provides, but we have to be attuned to it,” Cal explained, looking over at Max and his bag. “That will be gone through when we get there. Fair warning.”

"I see, well shit, do you strip search and pat down too? Sort of sounds like prison," Max said with a chuckle, still letting the first bit of information sink in before he responded to it. "I have some kokain, er um, coke in there, just a small baggie, smokes and pot, along with my clothing and stuff. Is pot not allowed either? I’ll need a lot of _peace_ if it isn’t."  

“You can smoke marijuana,” Cal said quietly as they walked, “we use it for enlightenment. A, uh… sacred herb.” He gestured, and they turned a corner. “The rest gets taken and tossed. We don’t keep it, it’s too tempting for some who are making great strides to better their lives-- as I hope you’ll join in doing.”

Max stretched his neck, looking up at the sky and took a breath, his unmarred neck exposed before he looked back to Cal. "Least there's that," he snorted, his feathery, but dirty hair and soccer shirt blowing in the wind, over his jeans. "Never met someone who wanted to help others without wanting something in return. Even my parents didn't help me, not until the end when my dad helped me get...free."

“Free?” Cal asked, mildly distracted by the sight of the unclaimed Omega, which wasn’t so unusual, but most in Max’s position were getting out of forced bonds. At least they didn’t have that to go through. “From what?”

"Oh. Free from..." Max trailed off, wondering if he should tell Cal that, what if he turned him in? Well he knew about his drugs already so what was the harm? The young Omega lit his cigarette, finally, and sucked his lower lip through his teeth, before taking a long drag. "From prison."

“Ah,” Cal said, plainly, watching the Omega smoke. “Enjoy that, it will be your last.”

"Thought you said your...Light wasn't restrictive, like how god is?" Max asked, arching a curious brow at Cal and then blew a wispy grey cloud of smoke out, away from him. He meant no disrespect, last thing he wanted to do was anger an _Alpha_ , but it was confusing.

“It’s not but we do have a way of life, and it’s a pure one, so no chemicals into the body. Pot is okay, it’s natural. We make our own wine and beer, so we drink that. We grow our own foods, we don’t eat animal products,” Cal explained, hoping that the younger man was catching on. “Your body is a temple, you need to put only good things into it.”

Without thinking, Max flicked his cigarette onto the sidewalk, obeying the Alpha out of instinct and mentally cursed himself for doing so. _It must be his pheromones_ , he thought to himself. "Ok, I get what you mean. Cool. Explains your amazing body I guess," he chuckled, looking Cal over briefly. Then it occurred to him that he wouldn't be eating meat. _Shit._ "Beer, wine and pot, I can handle that since I’ll be giving up the other stuff, apparently."

“In moderation,” Cal said, as they stopped at the crosswalk to wait for the signal, his eyes drifting over the younger man after noticing he had been sized up himself, and not completely in a predatory way. “I like to stay fit. Active.”

Max frowned at the moderation comment but nodded and let it go. Which wasn't hard to do, especially when Cal looked at him. The young Omega was very sexual, had been with Alphas before, been knotted, and knew an attractive Alpha when he saw one. He was far from predatory though, it was rare for an Omega to be. "I can tell. I play... _played_ , a lot of sports, soccer, things like that. Hell, I even gardened back in prison, worked in the greenhouse, to stay lean and be outdoors."

Cal’s eyes lit up that as the crosswalk light chimed for them. “Did you? We have a garden on the roof, if you want to give us a hand with it?” Cal offered, touching Max’s shoulder as if to guide him, but he really found he was craving contact, that of someone who actually maybe wanted to spend time in his company.

"I-I did," Max answered, suppressing a purr at the touch. He was lonely himself, and had not been with anyone since coming to the States; all of his experiences had been made in Denmark. The young Omega smiled, and blushed a little, letting Cal guide him. "Sure, I could do that, I'll earn my keep."

“All we ask for is a little help and if you want to learn our ways, that’s okay, too,” Cal said as they walked, the building coming into view closer and closer, more people in the standard Meyerist Eye shirts could be seen as they did.

Max nodded and brushed his hair from his eyes, the dark chocolate tresses cascading to the sides like a waterfall. "Sure, I'm an open minded kind of Omega," he winked, and then looked at all the people, the weird eye thing, feeling a little nervous. He was outgoing but this was a totally new world for him, but he hoped he hid that well enough. "I'm really hungry, when is dinner?"

“A few hours. I can get you something once we get you settled in though,” Cal offered, and walked Max up to the front door, unlocking it with his card, and then let him in. He lead him to the first room to the right. “Empty your pockets onto the table and set your bag down.”

"Thanks and...okay," Max said, quietly, and put his cigarettes, lighter, a knife and his bag onto the table. He shifted from heel to toe, fidgeting, as he waited. It was a little like prison, enough that he was starting to sweat.

“You won’t be punished for what’s in here,” Cal said, as he opened the pack carefully to start pulling out items, setting them on the table with everything else. “It’s a way for you to see what baggage you carry with you and the things you’ll be letting go. A lighter self.”

Max let go of a breath that he didn't even realize he'd been holding and smiled. "Thank fuck for that," he chuckled, not wanting to do more time. The Omega watched as Cal removed all of his possessions, everything he owned, drugs and all and rubbed his stubbled face. "What did _you_ have to let go of? I’m just curious..."

“I’ve been here since I was five,” Cal started to explain, putting the drugs on a tray to be discarded appropriately. “But I had my struggles with alcohol. It’s been hard going, a struggle I still have, but I’m constantly working on it.”

"Wow, that's a long time," Max said, and stood closer to Cal. Before he spoke, he offered him a genuine smile, and touched his shoulder. "I like to drink, so I get it. I guess none of us are perfect and that's ok. World would be boring if we were right?"

“Maybe,” Cal said, looking over at the young man as he packed up his bag for him again and handed to him, now without any of his vices. Someone else came in took the tray with things the Omega couldn’t have. “We don’t keep wine and beer here, and you can’t bring it in from a supermarket.” Their closer proximity had Cal’s senses raised, able to smell the Omega even through the dirty clothes and unshowered skin. His breath labored a little, jaw shifting.

“I’ll show you your cot and where you can shower,” Cal offered, gesturing out the door once more.

Max breathed in Cal's scent, as he took his bag back and felt his belly warm up, but tried to ignore that since he didn't think the Alpha would be interested in someone like him anyways. "No smuggling booze, got it," he laughed, and then walked towards the door. A shower would be nice, he hadn't had one in a few days. "Thanks."

As they walked, Cal pointed out his office. “I work here, so if you need anything I’m here most of the time. My room is just through the other door there,” Cal explained, and then guided Max to the main hall. “Your cot.” He pulled some sundries off a shelf and handed them to Max. “A towel, some soap, shampoo. The bathroom is just there that door at the other end.” Cal was, not for his own good, likely more interested than he should be, from scent alone. He’d made terrible choices with people they had brought in though, and knew he couldn’t make more.

Max had made a note of where Cal's office and his room were located...just in case and then slung his bag over his shoulder. The Omega's slender fingers brushed the Alpha's as he took the supplies and licked his lower lip, gazing at the movement leader. "Thank you, again, for everything. I'll repay you, somehow, even though it's not required."

“I just ask for dedication here and help with the garden,” Cal said with a smile, and patted Max’s shoulder. “You’ll do fine. Dinner is in a few hours. I’ll see you then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hvad= What


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Cal was out with the others in the garden on the roof top, tending to the plants and vegetables, going around and making sure everything was perfect, and getting rid of the fruits that might not be good enough to keep and tossing them into the compost.

Max was tending to the tomato plants, his hair pulled back in a 'man bun' just to keep it off of his face as he worked. He saw Cal walking around and looked up, offering him a goofy smile.

"Hej, Cal, these tomatoes are looking damn good, pretty much ready to harvest, I think."

“Oh? Are they?” Cal asked, squatting down low next to Max and checking out the tomatoes, giving them a gentle squeeze just to see. “They’re firm but ripe.” He picked one off, holding it in his palm. “Are you liking it here so far?”

The Omega looked over at Cal, noticing how blue his eyes were, especially in the sunlight and nodded. "It's cool. One of my cot mates snores," he laughed, wiping his brow with the back of his arm, "but I can't complain. Fucking better than being on the streets, so I'm grateful." He leaned closer, and lowered his tone. "I'm dying for a cigarette though. I mean, is there  _ any _ way I could get just one, somehow?"

“Afraid not. If you were at the compound, you’d be subject to bunk searches. You’ll get past the hump,” Cal said, just as quietly, touching Max’s shoulder with his free hand. “Anytime you feel you want one, you can come find me, I’m usually here. We’ll talk through it.”

Max sighed, but calmed at the touch and nodded again. This was a good arrangement but he missed his smokes, and meat. Glorious meat. "Ok, I will then, but um...be warned, that might be a lot at first. Been smokin' since I was twelve."

“Even better reason to stop,” Cal offered with a bigger smile. “You’ll add years onto your life. You’ll thank yourself later.” He stood, tomato still in hand. “If you’re serious, we could do a session, really get down to the nitty gritty and get you… _ cleansed _ .”

"That...I, yea, that would be good," Max stuttered, feeling weak in the knees just in the Alpha's presence. He was sweating, though not in heat, but clearly affected, that and gardening was hard ass work. Good thing his father had taught him that shit. Meant he was useful around here. The long haired man bit his lower lip and stood up, stretching his legs. Meeting Cal's gaze, he rolled his head on his shoulders with a groan. "When should we start? I'm ready whenever you are, to uh, get down to it."

“I’m free now,” Cal offered, clapping a hand over Max’s shoulder, finger cinching around the back of his neck where he was tense. “You hold a lot of stress, I can  _ feel _ it in you,” Cal said, nodding his head as he worked his fingers into the thick, tense muscles of Max’s neck. “We’ll get you straightened out.”

"I-I do, that is... _ very _ good," Max breathed out, his tone more accented than normal. God, he had to push down the purr that was bubbling up in his chest. Purring was something he hadn't done in a long time. His eyes darkened, and narrowed, before he swallowed, nodding. "I'm looking forward to it. Lead the way?"

Cal moved his hand down and clapped it against the middle of Max’s back, and kept it there, leading him back inside. Touch was the thing that garnered trust, and Cal loved to use it, or so he was telling himself here. He kept close as they walked down the steps back to the main floor, head swiveling now and then to take in the Omega’s sweet scent.

Max felt a bit of slick drip out, it wasn't much, but enough that it probably made his scent even more pungent as they walked. He still wasn't sure if Cal was just being nice or what, but he knew he liked the way the Alpha's large hand felt on his back. It felt comforting, among  _ other  _ things. "It's...fucking good to get out of the heat," Max chuckled, quietly, taking in deeper breaths than necessary to inhale the strong earthy scent coming off of the movement leader.

Cal lead them into his office where he shut the door. A fan was blowing, the windows were closed though for privacy. He got a glass of water for Max from the sink and gestured to a chair at table, and went to retrieve a tape recorder from the bookshelf.

“We record sessions here so that if need be, we can go back and either see your progress or figure out what else needs to happen. We keep records of everyone’s cleansings. Like story keeping.”

Max quirked a brow, but shook his head in agreement, and sat down at the table. He took a tentative sip of the water, and watched Cal, listening to him share. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what to expect, or how well this would work, but fuck it, he’d try. The Omega took down his hair and fingered through it, tucking one side behind his ear.  _ This would be interesting _ . "Okay, got it. I'm ready and willing."

Cal turned the recorder on. “State your name please?” he asked, taking out a folder with Max’s name on it as he sat down across from him, watching carefully.

The Omega eyed the folder, wondering what the hell was in it. What did they know about him? He leaned forward on the table anyways and kept his eyes on Cal's. "My name is Max Rasmussen."

“Tell me about your past, Max. How did you end up in prison?” Cal asked, making a note in the folder, laid out on the table, there wasn’t much in it yet.

_ No beating around the bush here _ , he thought to himself and cleared his throat, wringing his slender fingers together. "I smuggled five tons of marijuana, sold it, used it. Occasional violence too. Owed money to the wrong people and ended up with eight different charges," the Omega shrugged, really wanting a smoke right about now.

“You said you’ve been smoking since you were a child. What got you started on that?” Cal asked, offering his hand silently as a means of comfort, if Max needed it.

Max took Cal's hand, gladly, his breath hitching quietly when he felt how thick and calloused it was. He imagined it was strong, and skilled. The young Omega shifted his thoughts to the question, a rush of unpleasant memories hitting him, and causing his eyes to prick with tears. So many emotions in a short time. "Well my mom was fucked up on drugs all the time, whored herself out. Dad wasn’t there, so one day I stole one of my mom's cigarettes, when she was gone and smoked it. Hooked ever since. This was.before I got sent to the orphanage."

“A vice to get you through,” Cal said, making a note and then caressed the Omega’s palm, to calm him, to soothe him. He emitted his scent, wafting it through the air as he knew it usually helped, but often hated to use that tactic, but Max seemed to respond better to it. “Why did your parents give you up?”

The Omega went docile at that, taking in slow, calming breaths, his skin tingling. "Yes..." he said, quietly, his pupils dilating of their own accord. Even the next question wasn't as painful. He stroked Cal's hand with his thumb, and chewed his lower lip, preparing to speak again. "Because my mother was an unfit drug addicted  _ luder _ and my dad was arrested for theft, drugs. That or maybe it was because they didn’t... _ want _ me, I dunno. I ran away from that orphanage when I was fourteen anyways, took care of myself."

“Is your father in prison?” Cal asked, eyes meeting Max’s, watching him carefully as he made idle marks on the paper with notes, lost in the scent of the Omega’s slight distress, and his own need to comfort.

This is where he had to remain stronger than his sex.

"Yes, he is, where I was locked up actually, back in Denmark," Max explained, feeling a bit spaced out. Normally, he'd fight his Omegan instincts, but he really didn't want to with Cal. Maybe part of it was due to how restrained the Alpha was, it showed power, and control, which was  _ very _ appealing. The Omega whined, quietly, before he could stop it, from the thoughts about Cal and from the distress. It was so subtle that the recording probably wouldn't pick it up.

Cal looked up briefly from writing something else, and gave Max a sympathetic, knowing look. Not the first Omega to respond this way, but Max was setting off parts of his senses that he couldn’t hold together for long.  “You were taken then because they took you from them, because they couldn’t care for you. That’s very distressing for a child.”

Max gripped Cal's hand, a little tighter, and nodded, a tear falling down his sharp cheekbones. He had never been turned on, and sad, all at the same time, before now. It was...weird. "Yes," he sniffed and cleared his throat, embarrassed by his show of emotion. "Very fucking distressing. Then, like an idiot,  I ended up in the same prison as the father I’d not seen since I was very young and he hid it from me, until I found his little box of memories in the greenhouse we worked in. We used to fish, together...he thought I’d forgotten but I remembered..."  he trailed off, crying harder now, the emotions pouring out like a running stream.

“What happened? Did you confront him?” Cal asked, curiously. He held on to Max's hand, almost gripping, trying to keep himself from crawling over the table to hold him--comfort him.

"I tossed the box I’d found, onto the ground in the greenhouse and walked off," Max said, through his tears, looking at Cal under damp lashes. He wanted comfort, badly, and from the Alpha holding his hand but he took a deep breath instead, laughing a little at himself. "Later, he came into my cell and caught me smoking rock. Funny that he thought  _ that  _ was the time for him to play  _ daddy _ ," he paused, his voice becoming more shrill with the emotion, wishing he could have some drugs and get some relief, “but why was he not there for me before that? Do you know what it’s like to be raised by a shitty mother? Abandoned later, by them both? It’s not fucking cool! It’s just not...” Max trailed off, and laid his head down on his extended arm, sobbing. Despite having worked things out with his dad, for the most part, it still hurt, there was a lot of repressed pain there.

Cal understood better than most, as his own parents were mightily absent in his own childhood, for good reason. Steve had raised him for the mother part. The Alpha got up and squatted down in front of Max, turning his chair so the younger man was forced to meet his eye, once more. Taking Max's hands, Cal sighed. “It's not. All you can do now is forgive him. Forgive your mother and the Light start to heal you. Let it all go. Unburden to  _ me _ , Max. Let me help you shoulder this weight and get rid of it. Forever.”

Max looked at Cal, his palms sweaty as he held his hands and nodded. Maybe this Light stuff was actually for real. Maybe it was useful. The Omega knew one thing for sure, he believed in the Alpha, trusted  _ him _ , already. “I-I, I forgive them, for what they did to me,” he said, his voice shaky as he found himself snared in those intense blue eyes. The young man felt like maybe the movement leader was his hero, taking him off the streets, giving him food, a sense of purpose, helping him get off drugs--though that would take time--but he was grateful. “But fuck, I do need your help Alp--er um, Cal, please. Thanks for this.” 

Cal smiled, holding on to Max's forearms, bright eyes crinkling a little at the sides. “And we are going good to get through this. Together. Max, I promise you, you will find peace.” Cal knew he was almost called Alpha and the thought bristled right through him, like praise.

“Thanks again,” Max breathed out, no longer crying, especially not at seeing the Alpha smile that way. He smiled back, toothily, in turn, and nodded, his hair bouncing as he did. The Omega was very enjoying the touch from Cal, he wanted more, wanted to fold into his arms and just stay there.  For now though, he was just happy that it seemed like he may have found...home. “I’m already starting to find it...just being near  _ you _ .” A bold statement, quietly whispered, but meant.

Cal touched Max’s face with one palm. “Good.  _ Good _ .” His hand slid down his jaw over his neck, idly. With his free hand Cal reached and turned off the recorder. “Getting you clean will take time, and it’s going to be hard, but I’ll be here for you.”

Max swallowed, thickly at the touch and leaned into it. His amber eyes were more intense than most Omega's there was a certain strength in them, but right now they were glassy, from tears and arousal, half-lidded. "I'm sure it will be hard, really goddamned hard," he murmured, and then licked hips lips, "But I'll let you guide me."

Cal moved the glass of water closer to Max. “There will be a few ways to try and kick it. One of them involves a drink that makes you hallucinate,  I think I mentioned it…” Cal said, standing slowly, but his hand on Max never moved, feeling protective of the young man, not at all like the ways he did, say, Hawk.

"I don't remember you mentioning it, sounds like some trippy shit," Max chuckled, nervously, and took the water. He tipped his head back, and drank about half, his Adam's apple bobbing before he sat it on the table with a clink. The Omega was still very hot, under Cal's touch, very aware of it, and the protectiveness he thought he might have been picking up, scent wise. "When would we, or I do that?"

“It depends on how well you handle the withdrawals. You should be okay if you smoke a little of your sacred herb and meditate, so we’ll see how it goes,” Cal said, thumb rubbing over the back of Max’s next. “Our on hand doctor at the compound can give you something for it too, should we need it.”

"I've never meditated," Max admitted, looking up at Cal, his nostrils flaring to take in more of his scent. At the touch, a purr slipped past his full, curved lips, making dark pink wash over his tawny skin. "I smoked more than pot, or herb in prison, did some coke an hour before you found me...been doin' drugs for years, so it probably won't be pleasant."  

“You seem to be okay around me,” Cal pointed out, hand clamped down on the back of Max’s neck, and bent over to meet his eye. “I think we can work something out to our mutual benefit.”

Max sucked his own lower lip through his pointed teeth and locked eyes with Cal, his heart rate picking up. He nodded, slowly and moved forward a few inches. "Being around you...fuck, well it keeps my mind off of...anything else," he admitted, feeling a little slick dribble between his cheeks. "I'd like that, what do ya have in mind?"

Cal’s own breathing became labored as he watched Max sit there and emit the most perfect scent he’d ever smelled, on top of something else uniquely him. He licked his own bottom lip, steadying his hand on Max’s neck. “You could help me in my office…”

"Yea?" Max whispered, raspily and stood up. His eyes drifted to Cal's mouth, the way the were still wet from where he'd licked them, and he took in a shuddering breath. The Omega was so drawn to the Alpha he could barely see straight, his scent, looks, and whole being, just made the Dane that much more drawn in. "I'd be fucking happy to help you, in  _ any _ way you want..."

Cal swallowed, suddenly very aware they were both very much on the same page. “After dinner. Meet me at my office. I need to file your tapes.”

Shit, Cal had a lot control. The Omega was ready now, had been, but he would rather after dinner than not at all, so he smiled and nodded. "I'll be there, with um, what's the expression? With bells on or some shit."

“Yes but you don't have to wear bells,” Cal said, breathily.

Max dared to raise his hand and cup Cal's strong jawline, leaning his face in, not touching but closer than they'd been so far. Something that was more extraverted than what most Omega’s would do. He was definitely wet, as well as hard. "No? Maybe nothing at all? Once I'm in there, I mean..."

Cal gritted his teeth, one hand on Max's wrist to push him off, but instead he turned his head to scent his pulse instead, taking deep breath of it. Sweet and pungent, to delectable Cal barely contained his hardening cock. “Yes.”

The Omega closed his eyes as he was scented, Cal's hand feeling like fire burning his skin. He made no effort to move, his eyes fluttering open once more. Max neared the Alpha's scent gland on his muscular, just a little closer to take in his aroma better. It was euphoric and with a breathy whisper, that he couldn’t control, he purred, deeply, "Alpha..."

Swallowing hard, and then scented the Omega thoroughly, able to smell his scent under the waves of drugs that needed cleansing from his body and soul. “You will come to my office and strip down before the Eye. We’ll start you cleansing tonight,” he whispered harshly, trying to keep his own breathing under control, lips ear Max’s ear.

The stern tone and power to the Alpha’s voice was enough to cause the Omega to whimper, quietly with pleasurable delight. Every nerve ending in Max's body was singing. “Yes, Sir... Alpha, I will. I want to get fucking clean, so I can  _ serve _ you a-and the Light.”

Cal breathed against the Omega’s scent gland and then pulled back, hard as a rock in his confining pants, and doing nothing to hide it. “Go to dinner.”

Max looked down at Cal’s hard cock and all but drooled. He nodded and took another breath before turning to leave to go to dinner. He couldn't wait for it to be over so he could go to the Alpha’s office.

***

Cal waited in his office, fully dressed, and having never touched himself. He had control, he had restrain, or only so much of it. The Omega’s scent stayed with him through dinner, chancing glances at him across the hall, and when Cal left he only gave the younger man a nod. So he waited, hands clasped behind his back, looking out the window.

Ordinarily, Max would be craving an after dinner smoke, but tonight, he was more focused on...other things, on Cal.

The Omega had gone to the bathroom before dinner to freshen up, and remove his boxers under his jeans so he'd be ready. He walked, quickly, to Cal's office and walked inside, closing the door behind him. After taking a second to drink the Alpha in, he started to remove his clothing, piece by piece and sat them over the chair, standing right before the Eye, wordlessly, already slick.

Cal walked to the door and locked it. “On your knees before the Eye. Ass to me.” He started to lighting candles and turned out the lights, all but the Eye lit up.

"Okay," Max breathed, and grinned, running his hand through his long tresses. He got down on his knees, as Cal had instructed, keeping his ass right towards him. The Dane looked around, his gaze landing on the Eye, he still didn't know just what it even meant but he was down with this.

“So  _ willing _ ,” Cal said as he slipped off his boots down in front of Max and then squatted in front of him, a hand carding through his hair. “I want to personally help rid you of your demons, cleanse you with the Light, Max. Help you  _ believe _ .”

Max licked his lips, melting at the touch as he looked at Cal, right in his eyes. It was dark, but he could still see them clearly, they were gorgeous, and he felt weak just at the mere sight. "I am willing, Alpha. I believe in you. I want to know more about the Light, be set free.  _ Please _ -"  

Cal started to undo the buttons of his own shirt, all the way down and then stood, undoing his tight khakis, pushing them down past thick runner’s thighs and calves. Confess, unburden to me your… desires.”

"Oh...fuck-" Max whined, purring, and wiggling as he feasted his eyes on Cal's immaculate fucking body. His own cock, though smaller, was hard, and he reached around to give it a tug, once, pulling his foreskin back past the rim of it's head. "I confess, my desire is...you, I want to taste you, I want you to fuck and knot me. Hard. Now. Please."

“When I say,” Cal said, moving closer so his hips were in line with the Omega’s face.

"Ok, yes, when you say," Max agreed, and looked at the Alpha's obscenely large cock, his heart beating like a drum in his chest, and in his ears. He tucked his hair behind them, and looked back up into Cal's eyes, waiting.

Cal gripped Max’s hair with one hand, behind his head, and tugged it back to expose his perfectly unmarred throat and gland. “Thank the Light we got you off the streets.”

Max grunted, pleasurably,  and looked at Cal, then the Eye as best as he could. He swallowed with an audible click before speaking. "Yes, thank you, thank the Light...I'm so fucking appreciative." He meant it, he truly was, his life had changed so much since Denmark.

Cal’s gripped tightened. “Wet me.”

The Omega wrapped his hand around the base, the knot area, of Cal's cock. He nosed at his balls, taking in his heady, musky scent. God, it was intoxicating. Max ran his tongue from there to the tip and began to suckle, moaning around it as his hole began to stretch and leak out slick onto the floor.

One shaking hand went to Max’s head, holding him there, tugging hard again on those long strands of hair that Cal had been eyeing since they first met. He pushed his hips in, cock pressed tight against the wet muscle of Max’s tongue. “ _ Good _ …”

Max circled his tongue around Cal's cock, and opened his throat, cheeks hollowed as he bobbed back and forth along the thick length there. He took his other hand and started to fist his own cock, wet sounds echoing in the room.

“Fuck,” Cal swore, letting every good inhibition free, his instincts on edge now as he pressed in tight and held on tighter, reigning the younger man in, making him need Cal in every way possible. “Dirty… unclean… We’ll fix that.”

Need him he did, the Omega wanted him inside, badly, so much so that he was writhing on the floor, wanton. He continued to stroke himself as he was all but suffocated by the Alpha's glorious cock, mewling around it. Max's other hand went to clutch at Cal's ass, digging crescent shaped marks into the skin, kneading the muscle.

Breathing harder, Cal pulled Max’s head back, straining his neck as he bent now over the younger man, pushing him onto his back as he crawled over the Omega. The temptation to mame and mark was almost too much, but Cal relented, fucking the Omega would be enough-- it had to be.

Max spread his lean legs, and purred, a seductive mating sound that was usually very alluring to Alphas. He was totally taken over by his biology, none of the usual shyness over such an act was present. The young Omega felt the desire to be claimed and marked, his body screamed out its request as he squirmed and panted. "Tag mig, take me, please-"

There were sayings that there was someone for everyone, that every Alpha had an Omega, and they would know when they found them, and Cal couldn’t help but wonder, as he felt an attraction he couldn’t place, a feeling that coil deep inside of him and sprouted through his heart and out his veins like vines, gripping tightly at the very thought of Max.

Cal slipped between those perfect thighs, shoulders pushing them apart as he dipped his head to flick his tongue over the delicate nerves of puckered flesh, taking in every last drop of dewy sweetness.

"Oh...my...god," Max cried out, never having been tasted there before, he'd never allowed it, even from the other Alphas but Cal could do  _ whatever _ he wanted. It was fucking phenomenal and his back arched instantly, his eyes rolling back into his head as full lips parted.

Cal lapped up the taste, and held the younger Omega down with both strong hands, slipping his tongue into his entrance, getting every last taste he could, teasing Max to the very brink. When he thought the Omega could no longer handle it, he pulled back, licking his lips.

Max was panting, and covered in a fine sheen of sweat, his muscles rippling from all of the stimulation. He wasn't nearly as built as Cal, but for an Omega he was impressive enough. When the movement leader pulled back, the young man drew his legs up, hands under his knees and presented his hole again, with an audible omegan whine, it almost felt as though he was in heat. "Please, fucking please, please, Cal-"

Cal bent and kissed the taste of the Omega into Max’s mouth as he pressed himself inside of him, slowly at first, to the hilt. There he stayed, rocking his hips in and out slowly, feeling the young man under him tense and writhe beautiful. “Patience.”

The young Omega was impulsive, and patience was not his strongest suit, but he'd try, for Cal. He was praising the Light, however, when the Alpha had kissed him and filled him up with his large cock. Which was evident by the sharp inhalation of breath and how his rim quivered around the older man. "Ok, I will have pati--oh yes, feels so, feels so good-"

Cal dreamt of this Omega the night after they met. Dreamt of taking him, having him, bonding them together as one, cast over in pure Light. Had to be vision of something to come, something great, for once.

“Fuck, I want to do this to you forever,” Cal growled, forcing his hips in higher and higher, until he picked up a ravaging rhythm, beating his cock down into the Omega’s spastic, wet hole.

Max wrapped his legs around the backs of Cal's strong, powerful thighs, and dug his heels in. He had thought about this from the moment they'd made it to the center, had fingered his hole to it in the first shower he'd taken. Canting his head back, submissively, he moaned, "I don't want you to ever fucking stop, Alpha-"

Cal watched the gland ripple under the movement, and then leaned to lick a long thick stripe up the side, and then sucked, never biting. He’d have his Omega, but first they had to get through a few tests, a few things. Max had to be in the Light first. “It doesn’t have to stop, give over to the Light, to the Truth-”

"I want the Truth, I want the Light, all of it, especially  _ you _ ," Max panted, purring as his sensitive gland was stimulated. It elicited another rush of slick to drip down over Cal's cock. The Omega was already so close, heat coiling and burning in his belly, through his loins and hole. He meant what he said, his prior way of life had been meaningless, so he wanted a  _ new _ way.

“If you fail, if you lie and transgress…” Cal began to say, but was caught off guard by his own orgasm coming to heated head, swelling through his loins, and out his huge cock, knotting Max.

Max clutched, tightly, to Cal's biceps, crying out as his own orgasm spurted out of his cock and down his thighs. He winced, and squeezed his eyes shut, just a little and for a moment, as he was knotted. It felt right,  _ perfect _ . The Omega found peace with the Alpha and purred, nuzzling up into his  neck, scenting him. "I-I won't lie, I don't fucking know what transgressing means, but I'll try to do right Cal-"   

Panting, Cal slipped his hands under Max's back and shoulders, holding him there, against him, foreheads resting together. “It, uh… it means to sin, to do wrong.”

“Oh,” Max said, his breath coming out heavily, still purring. His long fingers slid up to the back of Cal’s head and he kissed him, softly, nipping gently at his lower lip. “Sinning is all I've ever done in my life, but I don't want to now, not since I have met you.”

“We all transgress, it's how we offset that matters after unburdening,” Cal whispered against Max's mouth, biting down into his mouth, like he was feeding off his soul.

Max flitted his tongue out to taste Cal's lips again, and then opened his mouth for a deeper kiss. "Offset?" he asked, as he caught his breath and clung to the Alpha like his life depended on it. "You mean make up for it? I can think of some fun ways to make things up to you..."

“Your offsets with me are different,” Cal breathed out in a low growl, pinning the Omega to the floor, taking his wrists in hand and over his head against the ground.

The Omega stilled in Cal's grasp, whimpering at the feel of the Alpha's power, it rendered him plaint. It was also dangerously sexy. He looked up at the bigger man, and licked his lips, fingers curling. "Okay, okay, shit...um, what do I do? I mean, I'll do any-fuckin-thing, Alpha.  _ Teach _ me."

“I will, but you have to try,” Cal said, and kissed the Alpha into the floor, and then down his neck, tasting his sweet scent gland.

"I'll try, promise," Max moaned, canting his head back and to the side, as far as he could to give Cal room. His hole squeezed around the Alpha's knot at that, his body involuntarily trying to milk him for all he had. "Helvede..."

Cal shook, and held the younger man to him, nosing against his gland, just allowing them to be for the moment. “If you are wonderful and good, maybe I’ll make you  _ mine _ .”

Max's eyes widened at that thought, wrapping limbs around Cal. No other Alpha had ever deemed him worthy of that, not even the possibility. There had been one he'd liked before getting arrested, the man had said he'd mate him, make him his, but it had all been a ruse to use him for sex only. So from that point on, the long haired brunet just fucked to get through heats or for pleasure.

The young Omega purred, and grinned, crooked teeth peeking from his full upper lip. "Well damn, that's motivation enough right there. I'd like that, ya know, if you choose to, one day." 

Cal only ever loved one other in his life, but an Alpha and another Alpha didn’t pair well, and they never saw eye-to-eye. Max, however, was perfect. “Prove yourself to the Light, that you are as devoted as I am, and I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hej= Hey  
> ~luder=whore  
> ~Tag mig=take me  
> ~helvede= hell


	3. Chapter 3

The next day Cal lead a group of 0Rs out, along with Max, who was, for now just seeing if he liked it there, though Cal had a feeling he’d be staying, if their arrangement worked out. They were passing out flyer and Cal was mostly watching Max, to see how well he was coming off his addiction and how well he interacted.

It was hard, doing without his vices. No cigarettes, or drugs, apart from the sacred herb, but  _ Cal  _ was Max's new drug, one he never wanted to be without. Even in such a short time, he’d grown attached. Giving out flyers wasn't something the Omega ever thought he’d be doing but still, he was able to charm, at least to some extent. Talking with strangers wasn't a foreign concept to him, he’d done it often before now.

As he walked, in his Eye shirt and jeans, he came upon someone who he'd done drugs with before. Max stooped down, much like Cal had, and offered it over with a friendly smile. He told the Beta how he was being  _ saved _ , and given a new life. He went on for a bit, and to his surprise the guy hugged him, and clutched the flyer, wanting to learn more but said he needed to think on it first. Max patted his shoulder and left him to go back to Cal.

"Hey! I think he's gonna check it out, Cal!" Max grinned, his eyes sparkling as he brushed his hair back with one hand, the other clutching flyers.

“That’s great. I hope he does,” Cal said, touching Max’s arm gently, not too intimately, he didn’t need their relationship known, not yet. “You’re doing so well.”

Max wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he had figured out that he shouldn't tell anyone about he and Cal. As such, he didn't try to be overly intimate either. Still, he licked his lips, subtly, at the touch and nodded. "Thanks. Well...I um, I'll get back to work," he chuckled and went back to passing out flyers.

Cal watched his potential mate make progress through the people, even getting a few to come in, hopefully, and when the work was done and they were out of flyers, most of them got into the van to go back, but Cal kept Max behind.

“I’ll take you back. Let’s walk.”

"Okay, sounds good to me," Max said, with a smile, preferring that to riding back with everyone anyways. Plus, it would give he and Cal alone time. The Omega tucked his hair behind his ears and started walking with the Alpha,  _ his _ Alpha, at least that was how he saw him.

“How did you like today?” Cal asked, walking close, side by side, with Max, their fingers barely brushing.

"I liked it," Max started, letting his pinky rub against the side of Cal's hand just briefly as he looked over at him and took in his scent. "I honestly didn't think I would, but it felt fucking...I dunno, warm and stuff. Like I was doing something that had meaning, instead of all the bullshit I'd been doing before I met you."

“You were living day by day before,” Cal explained, looking over at the Omega as he scented the air around him. “Now you are  _ living _ . You see potential in yourself and others.”

"I do," Max agreed, chewing his lower lip. "I didn't really give a damn about anyone or anything before now, ya know? Not even myself. But I do now, or at least I'm learning how to...thanks to the Light and to you."

“Self appreciation comes first and then others, I’m glad you’re finding it, Max. You have so much potential, and I want to hone into it,  _ tap _ it,” Cal said, quietly now as his gaze met the Omega’s.

The Omega felt his skin heat up at that, and swallowed thickly, eyeing Cal with intensity. "Thanks and I want you to... _ tap _ it, very much. Wish you could do that right now," he whispered, with a little grin, knowing they probably couldn’t, as they walked past a few buildings.

Cal’s blues eyes darkened at that as he pushed the Omega between two buildings, down a small alley, and up against the wall. “Do you? Right here? Fuck you while you can’t moan my name?”

Max grunted, his lips curling into a seductive snarl as he gazed back at Cal. "God yes, right here...I want you to fuck me, Alpha," he breathed out, his fingers curled around the movement leader's thick biceps.

Cal turned the Omega around, pushing him against the wall as one hand reached around to undo his pants, slipping them down his ass. Fingers slid through wetness as he fingered Max’s hole. “So wet already…”

Max's hands sought for purchase on the brick wall, palms flat. He arched his back and panted when Cal's finger began to work him, not bothered about the location in the least. With a hushed tone, he moaned, his cock hard and blood pumping loudly in his ears. "Only for you, Alpha, shit-"Cal undid his pants, pressed his cock into the Omega, keeping him caged and tight against the wall as he whipped his hips into him hard. One hand came to cover his mouth, keeping his groans silent as he bit at his scent gland, taking in his musky scent of sweetness and sex.

The young Omega's hole gripped Cal's cock, his nostrils flaring as he took in sharp, fast breaths. Max mewled, though muffled, and felt slick drip down in thick waves. It was hot as fuck, he thought to himself, feeling his whole body heat up and spider through his veins like molten lava.

Cal grunted against Max’s ear as he fucked him hard and fast, panting as he started to unravel, all the need and wants he’d been feeling all day just coming to a heated head. “You are mine,” he snarled, nipping at the Omega’s ear.

Max nodded his agreement, his orgasm approaching quickly, braiding down his spine, to his cock and hole. He'd been thinking about being fucked all day too, made it evident by stealing glances off and on. His body shook, and nails scraped the wall, head lolled back to give Cal room on his neck. A show of submission, willingness.

Teeth brushed over the gland in Max’s neck, tasting it as he fucked him harder, into the wall, but he didn’t bite, he couldn’t, not yet. Everything had to be right. “Come for me, Max…”

The possibility of Cal biting him, the feel of his teeth there, taunting, sent Max right over the precipice. It was fine that he wasn't bitten, he more than willing to wait. As he came, a sound of pleasure vibrated from his throat and into the Alpha's hand, hole spilling and cock spurting onto the brick wall.

Cal came roaring after the Omega, deep inside of him, knotted together like this, stuck for however long it took for his knot to deflate. “Fuck-”

The Omega gently removed Cal's hand from his mouth, and panted, loving how perfectly they hooked together, even if this wasn't the most ideal location for such a thing. He didn't care one bit. "That was fucking perfect..."

Cal nuzzled into Max’s neck, scenting him now that they were less frantic. “You better be worth it,” he sighed, already growing addicted.

Max kept his head back against Cal's shoulder, loving the post mating affection. "I will be loyal to you, won't fuck you over. I mean it seems like the Light has brought us together, you know?" he sighed back, very much attached.

Cal made a lot of mistakes, things he wouldn’t bring up to Max, as it wasn’t worth bringing it up to him, not now, not yet. No one needs a fuck up of a mate. “Seems to be true.”

“Glad you agree,” Mad purred, briefly wishing he could have an after sex smoke but it passed quick enough when he took in a deep breath and smelled the Alpha’s scent. “So how long does it take to get to the top rung?”

“Years. My co-leader, Sarah, she’s only 8R and started when I did. She has a family though, I’ve only ever had the light,” Cal explained, softly, nose against the back of Max’s ear.

“Oh, that's a long time,” Max murmured and reached his hand back to grasp Cal’s head, gently. “Now you have me, or at least you can have me if you want. I'm fucking yours is what I'm trying to say.”

“I’ve seen too many families fall apart because their other half isn’t all in,” Cal whispered, swallowing hard. “I won’t go through that, too.”

“I can understand. I saw my own family fall apart--though for different reasons--still sucked,” Max nodded, looking back at the Alpha. “I don't want that and I'm  _ in  _ now. In the movement and well...this, us.”

It was almost too good to be true, and Cal couldn't trust good, it never lasted. “It's only been a week.”

Max was young, and while he had trust issues of his own, Cal had saved him, which made him trusting. “I know, I'm not asking you to um, make any decisions but just wanted ya to know and all.”

Cal scraped his teeth against Max's neck just as his knot deflated, and he slipped out, doing himself up. “Keep up the good work, Max and… maybe.”

The young Omega made a quiet whining sound at the tease, at the loss of Cal inside but quickly hummed at the praise and possibility of what he wanted most. “Thanks, I will and okay,” he grinned and then did up his pants.

Turning Max around, Cal pushed him up against the wall one more time as he kissed him hard, bruisingly, tongue delving into his hot mouth once more as he palmed down the Omega’s perfectly slim frame. “Let’s go back, “ Cal whispered.

Max panted, with a grunt, his arms around Cal's neck, and nipped his lower lip, arching into him. "If we have to..." the younger man whispered back, and smiled, toothily, against the Alpha's mouth, "then okay. though I could stay in this alley with you, possibly forever if given the fuckin' choice."

Cal gazed deeply down at the Omega, utterly taken by him, when a loud crash came from the garbage cans in the back of the alley and a man stumbled out. Cal growled, getting between Max and the other, protectively. “Let’s go.”

"Okay, yeah, good idea," Max said, feeling a shiver run through his body when Cal growled at the man. He immediately obeyed, and held onto the Alpha's hand as they walked through the alley, knowing he'd probably have to let it go once they got back out around others.

The other group was gone, leaving Cal and Max to themselves. Cal walked Max to the Prius and opened his door to help him in, then shut it, deftly. He got in and started it up, looking around cautiously, not sure who saw what now.

Max buckled up and looked over at Cal, worrying his own lower lip as he toyed with the small gold hoop in his left ear. "Are you okay?" He hoped that no one had seen that wasn’t supposed to. The last thing he wanted was to cause problems for the Alpha, that and he was worried that if there were issues, they would stop what they were doing. Which to the Omega, it seemed like they were courting. “I don’t think anyone saw but that man in the alley.”

In actuality, it hardly matter who saw or what they thought, but Cal liked to present an air of dominance. He didn’t even like people watching him eat. “I’m fine. It’s all fine.”

"Alright, hope so," Max said, and placed his hand on Cal's thigh, rubbing his thumb in a soothing rhythm. Admittedly, he didn’t care who’d seen either, and only did because of the Alpha and the trouble it could bring if someone had. "What are we gonna do when we get back?"

“You have a session with me to talk more about your past and getting it out of you. See how you’re progressing with the treatments, or if we need to find a better solution,”  Cal explained, pulling away from the curb.

"Okay," the Dane nodded, and picked at a string on his jeans with his other hand. He was a little shaky lately, not eating as much due to getting sick from the withdrawals, but he'd managed to keep it to himself mostly. "Sounds good. I think we might need to consider other treatments..."

Cal reached his hand out to take Max’s, holding it as he drove back to the center. “I can get you something for the withdrawals, it’ll help wean you off, slowly.”

"Thanks, I need something, since I can't be around  _ you _ all the time," Max chuckled, and squeezed Cal's hand. He also missed meat, but didn't say anything, the sacrifices were worth it to bask in the Alpha's presence. Honestly, he'd never been so sprung before.

“I’m very busy,” Cal said, though he was at the center often, he had other things to worry over than where the Omega was at all times, even if he found himself wondering often. He had to have faith and trust. “But we’ll make it work. Overcome this hill off addiction, and we’ll be one step closer to bonding.”

"I know, I understand," Max sighed, but quickly perked back up at the last thing Cal said. Such an interesting shift his life had taken, it seemed very surreal. While he and his father only communicated through phone, and on occasions, he wished he could call him, tell him about all of this. Then again, they still weren't overly close and he wasn't sure if Cal would even like that idea. "I'll get over this, I fucking have to, especially if it means what you just said."

“You have to want this for yourself most of all, Max, for your greater peace of mind and well being,” Cal explained, not wanting to deter the young man from making something better of his life.  

"Oh I do want it for me too, but I mean, yanno, there are also those other reasons," Max said, nodding as he looked over at Cal, enjoying the feel of their fingers entwined together. "When I'm not getting sick from the withdrawals, it's nice not worrying about how I'll get my next fix."

“Once you’ve overcome, you won’t worry about being sick or where to get high next. You’ll worry about who are you going to help next? Where will you go tomorrow and what will you see?” Cal stopped at a light and squeezed Max’s hand.

"It did feel good, being helpful today," Max smiled, really sort of shocked that it had. He was looking forward to no more withdrawals though, among other things. "I also like the gardening. The book my dad gave me in prison, while I can't read it very well, it, along with his guidance taught me a lot. I was surprised at how peaceful it was. So I mean, even by just doing that, I feel like I'm contributing and shit."

"It’s nice to make a difference. If the rest of the world did, imagine the sort of place we’d all live in,” Cal sighed, thinking about it. He just wanted to help everyone, make something  _ great _ .

"It is nice, I honestly hadn't given it much thought before meeting you," Max admitted, having always just worried about the here and now of his life. Especially since most of his life had been very fucked up. "I can see it now though, I can see it in you."

“Do you feel the Light leading you this way?” Cal asked, as the light turned green and he started to go again, circling the block of the center to find a parking spot.

"I wasn't sure if I could believe in the Light, initially, but after going to a couple classes and being guided...I do," Max answered, honestly, stroking Cal's hand with his long thumb. There was just this vibe he felt now, like he was being watched, lead, and even protected. "I feel faith, and as I've mentioned, purpose...which is fucking strange, for me, but yeah."

“Good, Max. Good,” Cal said with a little sigh, as though content to hear it. He’d fucked up a lot lately, but he never fucked up when it came to reading people, and knowing them and guiding them.

Max was happy that Cal seemed to be pleased and he'd meant every word. It was fucking new, but still, he was completely open and receptive to all of this. More than anything he wanted to know more about the Alpha, especially since they were talking about the chance of bonding eventually. "Have you ever, I mean if it's not too personal, but have you ever taken someone under your wing, or done what we do, with anyone else?"

“No,” Cal said, honestly.  “I come across a lot of people, and there have been some I want to help, but getting too involved didn’t seem like a good idea, so I left it to Sarah.”

"Well, I'm glad I'm an exception," Max smiled, canting his head in Cal's direction. "I haven't met Sarah yet. But I hear you two are close, or were? I don't know, again, not trying to be too fucking nosy, I just wanna know more about you."

“Sarah is my oldest and longest friend,” Cal said, though with some hesitation to his tone as he finally parked the car. He looked over at Max. “She was my first everything, but I was too… everything for her.”

"She couldn't or doesn't appreciate you. Your spirit, your heart," Max said, softly, looking into Cal's azure eyes. He licked his lips contemplatively, his other hand undoing his belt. "I don't know you, like she does, and I'd never try to come in between you two but shit, I can still see how wonderful you are."

Cal’s eyes rested on the younger man for a long moment, really taking him in. Max was far more interesting and attentive than Cal first gave him credit for, and slowly the Omega was crawling under his skin and making a home there, inside his chest. “I… don’t know about wonderful…”

Max might not have been very book smart, but he saw people, had street smarts also and he could see the good in Cal. "Well, I think you are," he grinned, and took the Alpha's hand up to his face, nuzzling it with a purr once he'd made sure no one was looking or around.

The relaxed nature Cal felt in Max’s presence was almost too much, something he had not felt in years with anyone. He was timid and fierce in front of people, though he always put forth a welcoming and warming feeling to them, it was always practiced-- learned. With Max, his guard was down, his soul open for the taking. Cal’s fingers curled as he cupped the Omega’s face and pulled him forward to kiss him.

The young Omega went willingly and parted his lips, his tongue sweeping out in invitation to taste Cal again before they had to go back to hiding their courtship. Max's fingers curled into the fabric of the shirt the older man wore, gripping with needy abandon, he felt like he wanted to crawl into the movement leader's chest and stay there if only he could. It such a powerful feeling, to give himself so readily, to another. “I could kiss you all day and night, Alpha...”

Cal pulled them back, breath shaky as he stared at the Omega, watching him with great disbelief. “You… you make me lose myself in wonderful ways.”

"Then we're both showing the other a new fucking world," Max murmured, his voice deep for his sex. He caressed Cal's jaw with the back of his scarred knuckles and smiled, warmly, never letting his golden gaze falter.

Cal swallowed and kissed Max again, not caring if anyone saw. Courting was something everyone did, even him.

Max's hand crawled up Cal's chest, and cupped the back of his head as he fed from the Alpha’s mouth, the other hand on his jaw. He simply couldn't get enough and was glad that it appeared to be the same for Cal too.

“Max,” Cal managed, holding the Omega as close as he could in the small car, pressed up against the side of the door, legs spread to accommodate as they kissed.

"Cal," Max breathed out, and then dove back in, sucking the movement leaders tongue as they made out. He felt like a teenager, even though he wasn't that far off from one at the age of twenty-four. "You taste  _ so _ damn good."

Cal tugged Max over him, between his legs and kissed him harder for that, sucking on his tongue lewdly, and then his lips in turns. He could barely contain himself, nothing like anyone else he’d ever been with.

Max ground his hips down, his ass writhing as they kissed hotly, smacking sounds filling the car. The Omega purred from his deep in his chest, into Cal's mouth. Panting, he clutched at the movement leaders back, his skin ablaze and hole wet. "Oh fuck...I think I could come from just this."

“Right in your pants?” Cal asked, panting hard as he bit Max’s lower lip, sucking it into his mouth, between pearly white, perfect teeth.

"Mhm," Max moaned, pressing their foreheads together as he continued to grind, his back arched and scent filling the air thickly. "Right fucking here, in my pants, baby. You make me so wet."

“Do it, and then go inside and clean yourself, wash your clothes,” Cal whispered, kissing the Omega harder, wanting to see him come, even if he didn’t do it himself.

The young Omega nodded, and started to grind in earnest, his breath picking up; the friction and pressure on his cock and hole brought him closer to the edge as they kissed. It wasn't but maybe another minute and he was coming, totally untouched, from his cock and into the seat of his jeans with a throaty mewling groan. "Shit, fuck, oh Cal-!"

It was the most beautiful thing Cal had ever seen, watching someone come just at the kissing they did, only holding the Omega’s beautiful as their lips hovered. “Look at you.”

Max swallowed, catching his breath as he looked into Cal's eyes with a smile. "It's what you do to me," he whispered and kissed him again, softly. "First time  _ that's _ ever happened."

“First time for everything,” Cal whispered with staggering breaths, trying to keep every coil in tightly. Max was irresistible, his aroma filling every single one of his senses.

“I want to explore many firsts with you,” Max murmured, his breath hot against Cal’s mouth. He sucked the Alpha’s lower lip through his teeth and pulled off with an audible pop, not wanting to go inside or be away from him for even a second.

“We will,” Cal promised, cupping the back of Max’s head as they breathed together, thick and slow. “You can use my shower…”

"Good and I'd like that...alot," Max whispered, his tone raspy and words punctuated with soft, sensual kisses. The Omega felt on fire all over again, so a shower would hopefully serve to cool him off.

“I’ll get out first, lock it behind you. I’ll go to my room behind my office and you can follow me in a few minutes,” Cal explained, giving the Omega one last kiss before crawling out of the car. He adjusted himself, and then walked into the building.

Max had hummed into the kiss and agreed, happily. He, as instructed, took the few minutes to steady himself, having watched Cal walk away, admiring his ass and his muscular back. When about five minutes went by, he got out, and locked the car, walking slowly into the building. He smiled and nodded at some of the other people walking about inside and after about another five minutes, he went to Cal's room, behind his office and stepped in. He closed the door behind him and toed off his shoes.

Cal stepped in behind Max and reached around him, helping him undress. It was a risky move, of course, but he couldn’t think of anything better right now than to bathe the Omega, prove his worth as a mate, even if he knew Max already wanted him. It was  a matter of proving it to himself.

The Omega purred as Cal helped undress him, his fingers working his pants undone. He certainly thought the Alpha was worthy, if anything it was Max who worried he, himself, might not be. Once he was nude, he turned around and kissed the older man's lips, to show his appreciation, smiling against his mouth.

“Let's get you clean,” Cal offered with a wavering tone, backing the Omega into the bathroom, where he'd started up a bath of lightly scented salts.

Max swallowed with a nod, and lick of his lips as he walked back into the bathroom. He kept his fingers curled around Cal's biceps for leverage. "Are you going to join me?"

Cal’s infinitely blue eyes raked down the naked Omega’s form and the need to do just that scratched it way through him, but he shook his head, and pulled a stool up once he helped Max in. “Not this time.” He grabbed a cloth and the soap.

"Okay," Max smiled, and sunk into the tub, groaning at how comforting the sweet smelling water felt. He preferred Cal join him but for now, this was just very nice. The thought of someone as magnificent as the Alpha, bathing  _ him _ , was almost surreal.

Cal reached for Max and moved him so his back was against the side of the tub, and then began to soap his chest slowly, up to his shoulders and neck, gazing down at the Omega as he did, breath even, but growing heavier.

Max looked up at Cal, meeting his gaze and placed his hand over the Alpha's just briefly before letting go. It was almost as if there was a literal magnet pulling him to the other, making it almost impossible for him not to look into those sea blue eyes or to touch him. "Thank you, that feels very good, soothing. Never had anyone do this for me before."

“That’s because no one has bothered to court you,” Cal whispered, breathing going uneven as he reached a little lower to clean every last crevice of the Omega. Cal nosed against Max’s neck softly, taking in his scent.

The Omega purred softly at that, and lolled his still dry hair back against Cal's body, exposing his neck more. It also didn't escape his notice that the Alpha had just officially stated they were courting and it made Max's heart beat harder. With a soft tone and deep, shaky breath, he swallowed before speaking. "Yes, that's true. I'm glad though, it just means I was being saved for us."

Forgetting the stool, Cal got to his knees, one arm around Max’s chest as he held him and scanted him thoroughly, the other hand washing over all his most private parts, making sure he was clean, groomed. “I’m ever grateful to the Light for bringing you into my life,” he whispered.

Breath hitching, Max closed his eyes and just savored the feel of Cal's strong arms around him, bathing him. He scented him back, and turned his face to kiss his jaw. "I am too, very fucking grateful, I don't want to lose you, ever," he whispered back, his legs spreading to accommodate the movement leader's hand.

Cal’s eyes grew darker at that, gazing at the Omega up close like this, overwhelmed with emotions he never knew he was capable of. He hardly ever took chances with anyone, but Max was brought to him, drawn into the Light. “Are you sure? Most people leave after a few months… weeks..”

Max angled his body enough to looked at Cal better and nodded, with a genuinely sweet smile. It hadn’t been long that they’d known each other, but it didn’t make the young Omega’s feelings any less valid. He knew what he wanted and who he wanted it with. "I'm sure, never been more sure about anything in my life. I'm growing feelings for you, Alpha. I want to be with you, in the garden, _ forever _ ."

Cal picked up a cup and drenched Max’s hair with some water, slowly,  patting down his long strands as he did. “Forever is a very long time, that’s a lot of dedication to the Movement, to the Light.”

"Well if it helps, I would be dedicated to the Light even if we weren't courting, but it was you who lead me here. I mean it's new to me still, never had any sort of beliefs before now. I feel peaceful and once I kick these withdrawals, I know I can ascend the ladder. I want to do good shit with you," Max confessed, with a hum, the words feeling almost like another language but still true.

“Should you become a denier once you’ve started to ascend the ladder, you’ll be shunned from the Movement, Max. From me, if that’s happens,” Cal warned, not wanting to bond and have it all taken from him. There were reasons he was so, so careful.

"I heard about something like that happening, people talk and fucking whisper, but I won't do that. I couldn't lose you. I don't want to lose any of this, especially since I feel like I'm home for the first time in my miserable life," Max admitted, running his fingers in circles through the water.

Cal squirted shampoo into Max’s hair and started to lather it up slowly, washing all the grease out. “When you get to 1R…”

"Yeah?" Max asked, his tone hopeful. He assumed Cal meant that once he got to 1R he could bond with him, but he wanted to be sure. "Helvede, that feels so good, the way you're rubbing my head. But um, so I'm hoping to get there soon, to 1R, I think I'm on the right track."

“Yes,” Cal said, meaning the answer to both things, and rinsed Max’s hair slowly, running one palm down the back of his head slowly to get all the soap out.

"Cool, I'm glad," Max breathed out, purring at the way Cal's deft hands worked through his hair. He was becoming more and more pliant at the attention. Grooming was something very intimate, and it elicited a rather uniquely sweet and warm scent from the Omega. It was a bit like cinnamon and brown sugar, with hints of maple, homey, yet alluring.

Cal licked Max’s neck softly with his tongue, tasting his scent with a low territorial growl. “How did  I get this lucky?” Had the light provided? Clearly it had.

"We're both lucky, the Light has truly blessed us," Max said, arching his spine as goose flesh formed over his body, and nipples hardened.

Cal wasn’t so sure he was very deserving, but he wouldn’t complain, nor would he sabotage it. He needed this, needed  _ Max _ . Cal ran his hands down the Omega’s chest, over his nipples and down to his slim hips, grasping succulent thighs with both heavy palms.

Max needed Cal, that was clear, needed him more than he'd needed anyone or anything, even more than drugs. He preened into the touch, his hands bending behind his head to grasp at the Alpha's shoulders. "You're fucking...god you're fucking perfect-"

“Come on, out,” Cal whispered, and stood, towel in hand now, but it was clear the Movement leader was more than turned on again. “I want to explore you properly.”

The long haired man stood up quickly, and turned around to face Cal, his pupils blown wide as he gazed into impossibly blue eyes. Max, who had immense stamina, was also aroused, wet and fully erect. "I like the sound of that."

Cal put the towel around the Omega’s hips and dragged him toward the bedroom, which was honestly just a room with a bed on the floor and rack with his clothes. He dried Max off, from head to toe one limb at a time.

“On the bed.”

With a coy grin and a nod, Max crawled on the mattress, on all fours, showcasing his assets for Cal to see. He looked back at him over his shoulder, long damp hair hanging in his dark eyes.

"Like this?"

“Turn over,” Cal said, stripping out of his shirt, one button at time that were strained over his chest anyway. His boots were left at the edge of the mattress.

"Okay," Max said, and flipped over onto his back, his head propped up on the pillow as he watched Cal undress. He eyed him hungrily, sucking in his lower lip through his shark-like teeth and rested his hand on his belly as it rose and fell quickly. 

Cal striped his pants off and then his underwear, and crawled over the Omega, between his thighs, where he started at his ankle and his ways down to the sensitive spot where leg met hip.

Max mewled, quietly, at the affection, the attention, leaving himself totally relaxed so that Cal could do whatever he wanted. In all honestly, he'd never felt so cherished as he did right now and it sprung up a well of emotion from inside.

The scent of the Omega was muskier at the fold there, and Cal took it in and then lapped it up, skimming his teeth and tongue over more sensitive skin as his mouth roamed to Max’s smaller cock, dipping lower to nose against his balls. “You smell wonderful.”

"Oh..." Max moaned, his head canting back onto the pillow as Cal licked and took in his scent. He tipped his head forward, looking at the Alpha down his chest, and smiled, a blush creeping over his skin. "Do I? T-thank you, you do too though."

“I want to lick every scent off of you,” Cal groaned, mouthing against Max’s balls, and then licked down to his puckered entrance, lathing his tongue against it to taste his sweetness there, too.

Max spread his legs as wide as he could, arching his hips up to give Cal easier access as his fingers sought purchase amongst short strands. He was on fire, his heart pounding like a drum inside of his chest. "Fuck, Alpha, please don't stop..."

Cal’s hands were hot against the Omega’s skin, palming down his thighs,  over his hips and belly, as his tongue delved deep into Max’s hole, tasting him with a feral groan.

The lewd slurping noises that permeated the air, combined with the mixture of their scents, had the Omega writhing. Max moaned, loudly, gripping at the sheets white knuckled as slick came out in waves from his hole. "I'm going to-"

Just as Cal had wanted. He licked up the slippery come and crawled over the Omega, lips dripping with it as he slipped inside of Max, holding his hips against his own and started to fuck him hard into the mattress.

Max looked up at Cal, half lidded as he was fucked hard, his fingers curling into the Alpha's bulging biceps. He was soaked, hot from head to toe and almost delirious from the pleasure. Hooking his legs around the movement leader’s waist, he parted his lips to cry out. "Cal, fuck, harder-!"

Cal bucked, hard and fast, sweat dripping down his neck and shoulders, over his forehead and chest, grasping for life at the Omega, like his life depended on it. Huffing, he growled louder, “Max-”

Max's fingers slid up to wrap around the back of Cal's neck, his own stretching up in seek of a kiss. He wanted every inch of their bodies touching, tongues twining and souls melding. It was almost a spiritual experience, once full of primal lust and so much feeling. He was begging, and he wasn't even sure why but he just knew he  _ needed  _ him. "Alpha,  _ please _ -"

With the Eye watching over them, Cal started to come undone, writhing and bucking harder with each pass of tongue against the Omega’s, until finally the pleasure overfilled and poured out in heavy droves.

As they locked together, Max held onto Cal tightly, nails digging into his flesh as he gripped the Alpha's cock with his quivering hole, wordlessly coming anew and flooding them both. It took him by surprise, but then again what he felt for the man inside of him was beyond anything comprehensible.  

Cal shook, limbs quivering under tightly wrung out muscle, gazing down at the perfect Omega below him, knotted and conjoined. “Max…”

Max took a deep breath and exhaled with a low purr, which vibrated throughout.  He gazed back at the Alpha and stroked his cheek with the back of his knuckles. “Cal...that was just...mind blowing.”

Gazing down at the Omega, up close like this, Cal almost fell apart at how beautiful the whole thing was, and how much he didn’t deserve any of this. He wrapped his strong arms around Max and held him, forehead against his shoulder, just breathing.

Chest heaving, Max caught his breath, little by little and licked his lips with a swallow. He couldn't stop looking at Cal, nor could he shake the need to be held by him. So he just enjoyed the feeling, it was blissful, relaxing, and the young man felt like he didn't deserve this either.

“I don’t want to fuck us up too,” Cal whispered, a vulnerable moment without much backstory, but he felt he had to be honest, even if just a little.

"You won't," Max whispered back, taking Cal's face into his hands, "I won't let us be fucked up. I can't be without you." He finished his sentiment with a soft kiss on the Alpha's lips. The Omega's feelings were definitely growing more immense by the hour.  

Cal couldn’t be sure if he could trust that sort of judgement or not, but he took it, kissing the Omega down into the mattress once more, still locked together. “I… as long as you decide to ascend the ladder, I want to openly court you.”

Max kissed Cal back for that, grinning from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling with how much it meant to him. "Really? Cool, because I want everyone to know, when you decide," he began, trying to slow down how fast he was talking from the excitement. "You know I want to ascend the ladder, I'm eager as fuck to be 1R."

“I think you’re ready,” Cal whispered, knowing it was quick, but he knew potential when he saw it.

"That's great," Max murmured, tracing the outline of Cal's ear with his fingertip. "I won't let you, won't let  _ us _ down."

Cal kissed the younger man for that, rolling off to the side as his knot deflated a little bit more, pulling Max to his chest. “Good.”

"You certainly are," Max hummed with a cheeky smile, and laid on Cal's chest, listening to his beat. As he felt the solid muscle, and nuzzled, closing his eyes, inhaling his potential mate's scent, sleepily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Helvede= Hell


	4. Chapter 4

Awake at the odd hours of the morning, Cal strummed his fingers through Max’s hair as he gazed out the window, unable to sleep, not with the nightmares he’s had since he was child. Most of them were muffled, didn’t make much sense, and as he got older, they faded. The Nightmares always came back though, just when he got comfortable and happy.

Max woke up with a content groan, noticing it was just barely light out and looked over at Cal with sleepy maroon eyes. He had slept better than he had in so long and waking up to the movement leader's touch was better than he could have imagined. "God morgen, handsome," he smiled, reverting to his native tongue briefly in his half-awake state. He rolled over to face the Alpha and threw a lean leg over him. "You okay? It's fucking early, isn't it?"

“Yeah, it is,” Cal whispered, and kissed Max’s forehead softly. “Couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to wake you.”

Max smiled at the kiss, and snuggled into Cal, pursing his lips contemplatively. "You could've woke me up, I wouldn't mind," he said, quietly, his finger tips trailing up and down Cal's body. "Why couldn't you sleep, baby?"

“Bad dream,” Cal explained quietly, holding Max’s head, cradle it.

"Wanna talk about it, or um, unburden?" Max offered, genuinely. He yawned and leaned into the touch, all but melting. "I know I'm new and all to this but you can talk to me, if you want."

“I don’t know what they mean, I can never figure it out clearly enough,” Cal sighed, holding the Omega closer. “Something from my childhood that I can’t recall.”

Max breathed in Cal's scent, limbs draped over his body, as he tried to figure out what had happened that could be causing the nightmares. "Sounds like something not very good," the Omega said, quietly, "I'm here for you though, and while I don't know about your past much, I will help you if I can."

“It’s okay. I don’t talk about me much,” Cal insisted, dragging his fingers through the Omega’s hair, softly, with a sigh.

Max didn't push, instead he hummed at the touch, and closed his eyes, thinking he could be here for Cal by just being present. Hopefully that would offer some comfort until he was ready to talk more about himself--if he ever chose to. "I love waking up next to you, and not just because this bed is way more fucking comfortable than the cots," he chuckled, warmly.

“It’s a mattress on the floor,” Cal said with a small huffed chuckle, and held Max closer to him, protectively, as though the nightmares might come to life and take him.

"Still, better than the cot, mostly because it doesn't have you in it when I wake up," Max grinned, and nosed up against Cal's jaw, a quiet sleepy purr escaping his lips.

Humming his agreement to that, Cal rolled over the Omega, pinning him to the mattress. “You’re staying with me from now on.”

"Really?" Max gasped, hooking his legs around Cal's thighs and gazed up at him with a happy, love-struck expression. "Well no complaints here, I'll be glad to keep you warm at night and...thank you, Alpha."

“Just Cal,” the movement leader stated, resting his forehead against Max’s as he smiled down at him almost sheepishly.

Max leaned up to kiss Cal for that, and stroked his cheek. The young Omega still wasn't sure how he'd managed to capture the movement leader's attention,his affection, but he was thankful to the Light he had and even more that they would be courting publicly soon. "Okay; Cal, then."

Cal’s smile widened a little. It’s not that he hated being called Alpha, it was… well he wasn’t sure honestly, but it was slightly unsettling. “Thank you.”

It was mostly just what all Omega's were taught, to respect an Alpha, especially one they were courting and while Max had never cared about such things before, he wanted to show Cal he treasured him. The long haired brunet grinned at Cal's smile, and nipped his lips. "No problem. So are nicknames okay? Like baby, sexy, yanno, things like that?"

“Whatever you want,” Cal said, nosing against Max’s neck, scenting him and then kissing him there as he held him to the mattress.

Max was about to speak, but found it nearly impossible, so taken with Cal he was. He bent his head back into the pillow, giving room, and moaned, squirming underneath the movement leader. He scented him back, and finally managed to speak, "I love when you kiss my neck, baby. It's like my whole body is on fuckin' fire, burning hot and just for you."

Cal’s hands roamed the Omega’s lithe body with fire hot palms, warming Max where the cool air hit him. “I’ll do it more,” the Alpha said, quietly, biting playfully at Max’s gland and then kissed down to his collar bone.

Max groaned at that, a hand going to Cal's head to hold him, his body heating up from the core and throughout. "Cal...fuck, I love everything that you do to me."

Cal’s tongue slipped over Max’s neck once more before rolling off, padding toward the bathroom to relieve himself. “You should get dressed, people start coming by in about an hour.”

Max sat up, blinking at the sudden lack of warmth, and tossed the covers off. "Okay..." he said and walked over to collect his clothing, knowing that Cal was right. He'd just jack off later if anything. "When you're done, I need to pee, babe."

Cal chuckled, finished, washed his hands, and stepped out, gesturing the Omega along. He wanted to leave Max wanting, to seek him out more than he had been, to need him beyond anything else. “Go right ahead.”

"Thanks," Max chuckled, with a wink, and touched Cal's arm as he walked inside the bathroom with clothing in hand. He did his business, washed his hands, got dressed and then walked out of the bathroom. He did want the Alpha, wanted him more than he could express, craved to be bound to him but knew in the end he needed to be patient, and seek the Light's guidance. "Much better."

Cal had dressed while Max was in there, now in a fitted Polo with three buttons done up tight and khaki pants, matching shoes. He pulled Max to him, gazing into his eyes. “Perfect.”

Max hooked his arms around Cal’s neck and drank him in, dressed in jeans and the Meyerist Eye shirt, himself. He swallowed as he gazed at the Alpha and leaned in to scent him. “Thanks, but you're the one who is perfect and fuck, you look  _ so _ hot.”

Cal smiled wearily at that, but held the Omega closer, petting down his hair softly as he took in Max’s youth and strength. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” Max hummed and leaned his head against Cal's solid chest. “Is it okay that I'm here? I mean you said people are coming by and all so I just wanted to make sure since we aren't public yet.”

“We have a few minutes,” Cal said, resting his chin over Max’s head.

"Cool," Max sighed, feeling Cal's chest rise and fall. He didn't want to leave the Alpha, not even for a minute. "I guess I can go aheads and get my stuff together while you're doing that, to bring back here, not that I fucking have much."

“Please do,” Cal said softly, hands fingering through Max’s hair, holding him, not wanting him to go yet either. It was only time Cal had known peace.

Max looked up at Cal, and smiled, his fingers trailing down his chest, over his nipples, almost absentmindedly. "So, um, is it bad that even being away from you for a short time, feels like a fucking eternity?"

“No,” Cal whispered, gazing down into Max’s eyes. “It’s not. Attraction and need will do that, and the longer we’re apart and the worse it feels, the more we’ll know it’s meant to be.”

"Yes, attraction, need and...feelings," Max whispered back, nosing against Cal's jaw, wanting him to know it wasn't simply biology. It was fate, destiny, and bordering on love--at least for Max. He'd heard of finding one's ' _ True-mate _ ', that it was deeper than even a regular Alpha and Omega bond, but he'd never thought he'd find his...not until he met Cal.

It was all in one for Cal, all wrapped up, he’d have it all or nothing, he was tired of meandering around things. He cupped Max’s jaw and kissed him hard, biting down into his mouth, tongue and teeth clicking and clashing. “Yes, feelings, too.”

Max's heart raced at that, a quiet purr bubbling up from his chest. Fuck, he didn't want to leave, but he also needed to check on the garden. Make sure that he was doing his part. "I'm glad you agree," he smiled, and kissed Cal back with all of his being, all but pouring his soul into the Alpha's mouth.

“You are on my mind more than I want to admit,” Cal whispered, backing the Omega against the wall, his senses filling with Max’s scent.

"I admit freely that I think about you all the time, wonder what you're doing, if you're thinking of me," Max cooed, licking his lips as his back hit the wall. "I want everyone to fucking know about us, I'm not ashamed, you're...well you're likely too good for me, but I want you anyways."

“I’m- I’m not… too good for you,” Cal said, quieter this time, a flash of something broken on his face, and then he smiled to cover it, touching Max’s cheek gently with his fingers.

Max just thought Cal was too good for him since he'd just gotten out of, or well  _ escaped _ , prison, was fighting drug addiction and crime. The Alpha seemed too perfect for such a low caliber Omega like the Dane. "I've just never felt this way before, yanno? I'm afraid if I close my eyes for too long it'll all go away,  _ you'll  _ go away," he confessed, leaning into the touch with a smile in return.

Cal shook his head, breathing deeply. “Don’t say that, I’m not… I’m not leaving.”

"Good," Max smiled and took Cal's jaws into his hands, tracing. "Me either, I'm here, baby, all yours." He followed the sentiment with a kiss, and wrapped his leg around the Alpha's thigh, keeping him close. Admittedly, he was stalling a bit, not wanting to leave, not until the movement leader told him to.

Cal sighed and kissed the Omega slowly, caging him against the wall. “You’re distracting.”

"Thanks?" Max grinned, breathlessly in the middle of their kiss, rolling his hips as lithe fingers clutched at strong biceps.

Cal delved his tongue into the Omega’s mouth like he needed him to breathe, clutching him closer, desperate for the day to end so he could crawl back into bed with him. A knock at the door caught him off hard though.

Max panted and licked his lips, his dark eyes looking at the door. "Should I, should I hide?" he whispered, not wanting to cause any problems for Cal. Fuck, he should have left a few minutes prior.

“No,” Cal said with the shake of his head. He kissed Max once more and then stepped away to get the door. It was Hawk. They spoke for a few moments, quietly and then the younger man was gone. “He was worried about where you were last night. I told him you were with me.”

Max smiled and nodded, walking over to stand by Cal. “That was cool of him to worry, what did he say when you told him that?” the Omega asked, having hung back a bit so they had privacy while talking. Either way he was happy the Alpha told Hawk the truth.

“He didn’t say anything,” Cal said with a spread of his hands. “My personal business is my own.”

Max licked his lips and looked into Cal's eyes, placing his hands on his chest. "Is that what I am? Business then?" he murmured, playfully, trailing down to cup his groin.

“ _ My _ business,” Cal reiterated, giving Max a look as the Omega teased his way below the belt, and tugged him closer. “Mine.”

The young man's breath hitched at the words, a grin spreading across his face while he kneaded Cal's massive cock through his khakis. "All yours... _ only _ yours."

Cal swallowed at the touch, dragging the Omega in for a hot kiss, biting into his mouth like he was the very living source he needed to survive on. “Just mine.”

"Yes," Max breathed out, his fingers sliding up and around to the back of Cal's neck. He knew people would be coming soon, he'd have to go to the garden, but for now, he was just enjoying this. Their passion and fire was immense and threatened to burn him alive in the best of ways. "Jeg elsker dig."

Cal took in Max’s scent, unable to control the way his body moved in against him, pinning him once against to the wall. “When is your heat?” he whispered into the Omega’s ear.

Max knew that Cal didn't understand that'd just told him he loved him, didn't need him to, not yet, he just needed to say it. Eventually he'd tell him in english, but was afraid of scaring him off for now. At the question, the Omega's breath quickened, how sinfully sweet the Alpha sounded asking him that. "Soon, actually, really fucking soon," he whispered back, arching against the movement leader.

Cal didn’t speak the language, but the sentiment was not lost, and his question had everything to do with it. He kissed Max slowly, hot and passionately, cupping his face. “I’m going to bond with you then, Max.”

The Omega kissed Cal back with equal amounts of passion and heat for that, holding him like his life depended on it. He'd never in a million years have imagined he would end up here, and with such a magnificent man. The movement leader turned heads, everyone stood up to talk to him, and yet he wanted Max. "That's the best news I've heard in my whole life, Cal..."

Cal didn’t have to shape his appearance for Max, and in that there was a lot of trust. “Are you sure you want that?”

"I've never been more sure about anything, like I am about this. Yes, I want it, want you, with every fiber of my damned being, baby," Max purred, softly, gazing into those perfect cerulean hues.

“Then when you come into heat, I’ll do it,” Cal said,  pressing himself into Max, scenting his neck, able to smell the impending heat coming.

The thought made Max shiver with delight, he'd never looked so forward to heat like he was now. "Okay, fuck, I can't wait," he said, canting his head back and hooking a leg around Cal's hip. “I know it’ll be the best heat ever, since it’ll be with you.”

Cal had never gone through a heat with an Omega before, never wanted to, never had the inkling, but Max was different, and all he wanted to do was pleasure his soon to be mate and protect him.  “I’ll take good care of you.”

Max smiled, and leaned in to kiss Cal again, never growing tired of the hot seal of their lips intertwined together. They were like two pieces of one perfect puzzle, slotting together beautifully. Somehow even speaking about his heat, made it feel as though it was approaching sooner. Already he was having the urge to make a nest, he would need to soon, as Omegas in heat needed that special place to be bred and mated. With a sparkling gleam in his eye, he parted from the liplock long enough to whisper, "I know you will, baby, we’ll take care of each other."

Cal nuzzled into Max’s face and kissed him again, and again… finally letting go. “You need to eat.”

"I am pretty hungry," Max agreed, with a smile, taking a deep breath, craving meat more than ever as his heat approached. A nice medium juicy steak sounded great, but he was getting used to the vegetarian lifestyle, little by little. "Are you gonna come eat too?"

“I… get something from the kitchen and eat alone usually,” Cal said, brushing fingers through Max’s hair, hardly wanting to let him go when he was smelling so sweet.

Max closed his eyes at the touch, and fluttered them open, swallowing. It wouldn't be long now before he was full blown. "I could try to make us something here, if you wanted, or if you'd rather eat alone, I..." he began, his skin already hotter than it had been and the primal mantra of  _ 'Alpha, breed, knot, mate _ ', starting to play in his mind, which would only intensify. "I can always go and come back."

“Get us some oatmeal and tea,” Cal said, softly, stroking his hand down Max’s neck, over his gland. “We’ll stay in, call all my meetings off.”

"That sounds perfect," Max grinned, really giddy and also aroused at how the Alpha was stimulating his gland. The thought that Cal would do that for him, meant more than he could even express. "Do you have some here? Or should I go out to get some, where everyone else is?"

“The kitchen has some down stairs, you can grab a jar of them. I have bowls,” Cal explained.

"Okay," Max nodded, and leaned up to kiss Cal once more before sliding away from the wall to go to the door, his scent wafting thickly behind him as the slick started to gather between his cheeks. "I'll be back quickly."

Cal seethed at himself for letting Max go, but they had to eat before they could do anything, as they’d be at it all day. “Hurry.”

Max nodded with a smile and then disappeared out the door. As he got the oatmeal and tea, people certainly noticed, the sweat clung to his skin heavily and his scent was even more pungent but luckily no one said anything. The Omega was starting to feel the all too familiar pain swirl in his belly, the ache in his hole that would only increase within the next hour and wouldn't go away until he was stuffed full of an Alpha's cock...Cal's, more specifically. By the time he was walking back inside the movement leader’s room, he was shaking. "I-I think I got everything."

The scent alone that wafted in was too much for Cal, and he took everything from the Omega and set it aside, and then curled his calloused hands around his jaw and kissed him heated, licking into his mouth with furious strokes.

A low whine reverberated from Max's chest as they kissed; the slide of their tongues, and the Alpha's scent pushing him over the edge, into that primal state. He needed Cal, badly, which was apparent as a gush of slick rushed out and soaked his pants, fingers clutching desperately to the other.

“Look at how dirty you are,” Cal groaned, back his soon to be mate into the bedroom once more, locking the door behind them. He kissed down Max’s jaw to his neck, taking in his wafting, unearthly scent.

"So dirty..." Max murmured, gazing at Cal with half lidded amber hues, mewling as his neck was kissed. No sooner than the bedroom door was locked and the young man was stripping off his clothing until he was nude, parting to get onto the bed, on all fours, presenting himself to his soon to be Alpha. "Please, please," he whined, in full blown heat.

Cal’s blue eyes blew wide with lust as he watched the younger man present, his own breathing labored as he undressed quickly, all over again, and got down behind Max, and positioned his cock against his hole, holding his hips. “Please, what?”

"Please mate me, please, I want your cock, your knot," Max whined again, another wave of slick gushing out, his hole twitching in anticipation. He was sweating profusely, the ache almost unbearable. Only one thing could stop it, and he would need it several times over the course of the next three days.  

Slipping right inside of Max, Cal let out a growl as he arched over the Omega and started to fuck him, hips pistoning to beat out their own rhythm, hard and fast. “Fuck, Max…”

Max moaned loudly, and gripped the sheets so hard he thought he might rip them, the ache he’d been feeling turning into pleasure. Their trysts before this had been great, but being bred while in heat was out of this world. "Oh god, yes! Fuck, so so good..."

Cal wrapped one hand around Max’s throat and pulled him back a little , holding him there as he fucked him good and hard, panting against his shoulder as he bit into it. “Fuck, you’re so tight, so hot…. so _ mine _ .”

So close to his mating mark the bite was that he thought he might come then and there. Max mewled over and over, his breath coming fast and hot as he was fucked in just the way he needed most. "All fucking yours. You're so sexy and your cock is so huge, a perfect fit..."

Cal dropped his hand to Max’s cock and started to work him over as he fucked him in time with it, curling over him and kissing to his scent gland, his mating spot, and licked it insistently, waiting until the Omega reached his peaking bliss.

Max could hardly speak at the double stimulation, his heart pounding like a herd of wild animals in his chest. A few more strokes and thrusts and he was climbing the ladder of his desire, straight to the highest rung. Groaning incoherently, his hole clenched and he saw stars, spilling out over the Alpha's hand and down his thighs. "Cal-!"

As Cal came right behind him, growling and moaning, knotting the Omega, the Alpha sunk his teeth into the glance, waiting until the taste of blood filled his mouth, sweet and coppery all at once.

The Omega cried out, pleasurably, an arm going back to hold Cal's head as their bond became official. It felt almost magical, electric and was practically indescribable. They were sealed together forever, and Max couldn't be any happier than he was in this moment. "I love you..."

Cal lathed his tongue over the spot, healing it with his saliva, sealing them together. “I love you, Max,” he whispered, hands trembling as they roved the younger man’s body, unable to believe this was his mate now.

Max purred, and lolled his head back against his mate's shoulder, tawny skin ablaze, and mind in a blissful haze. He knew he was fortunate, that the Light had helped him kick his habit, and brought them together, so many things to be grateful for, but the best of all was Cal. "I'm so happy, so fucking happy."  

Cal curled around Max and moved to the side as his knot locked them together, not even budging. They’d be here a while, and then Cal would ravage his mate again and again. “Good. So am I.”

"I'm glad," Max hummed, his fingernails trailing up and down Cal's forearm as he was held. The knot felt perfect inside of him, and his hole clenched down on it, of it's own accord. It was a biological response an Omega's body would often do, to get as much seed as possible.

Cal ran his hand over Max’s chest, clutching him at his shoulder as he kissed his neck .”Tell me all the things you desire, yours wants and needs…”

Max had never had anyone ask him that before, and was taken aback in a delightful way. "I mean, you are what I want and desire. I have you now, just like you have me, yanno? So if I never get nothing else, I'll be fine," he whispered, with a purr. Still, he wanted to put more thought into it and give a more detailed answer. "I would like to be higher up on the ladder so I can be of more help to you, and the movement." 

“We’ll work on that,” Cal offered, promising it with a kiss to the Omega’s shoulder, holding him closer. “You’ll do great things with us.”

"Good, cause I wanna make you proud of me. I want to be a fuckin’ good mate to you, and member of this community," Max said, angling his face back to try to capture Cal's mouth, his hand reaching back.

Cal groaned a little at that, pressing his cock in deeper. “I am proud. You’re going to be great,” he whispered.

Max grunted at the movement, and took in a sharp pleasure filled breath. "Thanks, baby," he smiled and rested his head on the pillow. "We should eat, if you want, once your knot goes down, then i'll make my nest before the next time."

Cal hummed at that, and nestled his face into Max’s neck. “I’ll make us breakfast when it does.”

"Sounds good, thanks," Max sighed, happily, a soft purr resounding from his chest. "What do you think people will say, um, about our bond and you cancelling their appointments?"

“I…” Cal began, but wasn’t really sure, as he usually tried not to do that to people, needing them to look up to him. “They’ll understand, I hope, given the reason. You’re my mate now and I had to take care of you.”

"I think they will, they better," Max said, and stroked Cal's forearm that was around him. "Everyone seems pretty understanding and nice, but if they give you any lip, I'll put them in their place," the Omega grinned, though he was serious too.

Cal smiled and kissed Max’s shoulder. “I know you will.”


	5. Chapter 5

A week later, as word got around about Cal and Max, people came out of the woodwork to ask more and more questions, mostly concerning Cal, if he was okay, and if Max was going to ascend the Ladder, which of course Cal always said yes, he was. During breakfast, Cal sat with Max as he ate, protective of his mate more now than ever.

Max grinned around his spoon as he ate his oatmeal, totally in love and taken with his Alpha. He was glad that people seemed accepting so far, and hoped it would continue to stay that way but nonetheless, Cal was his true mate and they were bonded. "Thanks for breakfast," he crooned, rubbing his mating mark absentmindedly. "What are we doing today?"

“You can thank the people who made it,” Cal said, quietly, touching Max’s free hand under the table, rubbing his thumb over the bumps of his knuckles. “Garden maybe? I have some financial things I have to go over later.”

"I will," Max hummed, weak in the presence of Cal's scent, his senses flooded with it, even after all the time they'd spent. The Omega put his spoon down, to rub over the movement leader's hand, briefly before picking it back up to finish eating. He didn't ask about the financial things, as he assumed it wasn't really his business being new, even if they were mated. "I do need to tend to the garden, heat really put me behind." 

“I’m sure it’s doing fine, but perhaps the tomatoes could use some tending,” Cal suggested, leaning over to wrap an arm around Max and nuzzle into his neck.

Max purred, nuzzling Cal back, totally pliant in his arms and under his thrall. "Yes, good idea, baby, I'll make sure they aren't being eaten by the bugs."

Cal ran his hand through Max’s hair as the scent of another Omega entered the building, one fairly pregnant. Mary entered the cafeteria, no husband at her side today, looking around. Cal ducked his head.

Seeing Cal's reaction, Max turned to in the direction of the pungent Omegan scent to see the blonde woman, one he'd not yet met. He looked back at his Alpha, pursing his lips, brows furrowed. "Cal? What's up? Who's that?"

“Mary Cox. Abused, came to us after her father’s trailer was almost destroyed by a tornado. She’s been devote since. Married about seven months ago,” Cal explained quietly, nodding at her belly. “Married a 1R named Sean.”

Max nodded slowly, listening, and glancing at her belly. He looked back into Cal's eyes, and swallowed. "Okay, but that doesn't explain why you are fucking acting all...I don't know, like it's a secret..." he asked, quietly, out of respect for his Alpha. “I’m just curious is all, yanno?”

“Mary and I… had a one night thing, months ago,” Cal admitted very quietly. “I don’t like people to know, I… it wasn’t right of me.”

"Oh...well, as long as it was just that once. I mean it's in your past. Thank you for unburdening," Max said, quietly, not liking that bit of information at all, but he found comfort in the fact that Cal was honest with him about it. Then another thought occurred to him, "But how _many_ months ago?" 

“Six or seven,” Cal said, not exactly keeping track.

"Oh okay," Max said, rubbing his chin, feeling protective and jealous over his Alpha. The answer didn't exactly make him feel better. It was common in those of Max's sex, especially since in the olden days Alphas would sometimes taken more than one Omega. It was innate in their biology to react in such a way. "I just wondered since she's...well you know..." 

“With her husband’s baby,” Cal pointed out, hand gripping around his Omega’s shoulders, feeling his distress. “It was one time. The chances of that are… astronomical.”

Max took a slightly shaky breath, Cal's touch serving to calm him and looked into his eyes. "You're right, I'm sorry, Al--Cal," he whispered, another Alpha looking his way as he'd undoubtedly scented Max's distress but didn't do anything other than watch from afar. 

Cal brought Max’s face against his neck, letting him scent him, coddling him, and settling him with the motion as he ran a hand over his neck, over his scarred scent gland. “It’s okay.”

Mary noticed their coupling, and instead of coming toward them as it seemed she was on her way to do, she headed right for the kitchen instead.

The Omega stilled and calmed completely at that, a quiet purr vibrating in his throat as he took in his Alpha's scent. "I love you," he whispered, not noticing where Mary had went, but didn't detect her scent as strongly either. "Are you coming into the garden with me or going to do the other stuff?" 

“I need to get a few things done and then I’ll join you,” Cal whispered back, kissing Max’s head and then turning his face to kiss him openly on the mouth, a rare public display of affection, but one he knew would settle his mate’s nerves and anxieties.

Max kissed him back, clutching at Cal's shoulders, though he tried not to be too graphic with the display. Personally speaking, he didn't mind one fucking bit who saw, but it was more that he wanted to behave accordingly. Either way, it certainly settled his nerves completely and he was in a bit of a blissful haze. He smiled, with a wink, and gathered their bowls to take into the kitchen before going to the garden to start working. "Okay, baby, I'll see you soon." 

Cal passed Mary in his walk to his office, giving her a nod, and then disappeared. Mary frowned a little, and followed instead after Max, up to the roof top garden. She looked around for him and finally, when she saw him, she paused, hands fidgeting a little in front of her.

“You’re Cal’s mate now?” she asked, a little unsettled, unsure.

"Yeah, I am," Max answered, feeling tense all over again and sensing hers. He remained polite, however, and stood up from his stooped position. While he knew who she was, he needed to seem as though he didn't. "I'm Max...we...we haven't met since I've been here. What's your name?" 

“I’m Mary,” she said, with a small smile. “I sometimes work here in the gardens. Keeps me occupied.”

Max nodded, returning with a small smile of his own, sizing her up. "Yeah, it's a passion of mine and Cal's," he said, taking the opportunity to include _his_ Alpha. He gestured to Mary's belly, running his free hand through long chocolate tendrils before his lips parted in preparation to speak, "Congratulations, by the way." 

Mary touched her stomach, fondly, her smile wider. “Thanks. Sean and I are so excited. I never thought I’d be a mother… Do you… want pups?”

Smiling back in turn, Max nodded, "I never thought I'd be mated, much less have pups, but yeah, I mean if Cal does. Sure." He looked off to the side, thinking, before looking back at her. "So you and Cal are...close or?"

Mary shook her head, slightly. “No. He, I mean, I wanted to be, but he kept pawning me off on other people, so I stopped trying.” She didn’t say all she wanted to, that Cal had wanted her, even if Cal denied himself, but now she saw he was mated to someone else, and… maybe he never wanted her at all.

Max quirked a brow at that, and then nodded. "Oh...I, uh, sorry...but you're happy now, so it turned out for the fuckin' best, yeah?" he asked, feigning a smile. He wanted to know as much as possible, almost unable to stop himself from prying. 

“Yeah. I have a great beta husband, and a baby coming. A place to live, a nice new refrigerator,” she said, biting the inside of her bottom lip. “It’s good, yeah.”

The fact that her husband was a Beta didn't set well with him, Max knew an Omega was only at their happiest with an Alpha. Add to that, that she seemed fidgety, and he was suspicious."That's good...so your husband got you a new fridge?" 

“Sorta,” Mary said with knowing, awkward glance at the other Omega. “He convinced Cal to get us one. At least, I’m sure it was Cal.”

"Oh..." Max said, not liking the answer one bit but what could he really do in this moment? "So Cal huh? Why did you all go to him anyways and how did he convince him?"

“I wasn’t there, I don’t know,” Mary said, innocently. She spread her hands over her skirt, looking down at her belly.

Max didn't buy it, but he didn't want to upset a pregnant Omega either, despite how angry and jealous he was growing. He took a breath, and plastered on another smile, knowing that with being mated to Cal, he had to present himself a certain way. "I'm just going to be direct, Mary, and I mean no disrespect, but do you still have a... _.thing_ for Cal? You can unburden to me, you know? We could be friends...we're both Omegas after all."

Mary’s mouth dropped just a little and she shook her head. “No, of course not. I’m married. Cal doesn’t want to love me anyway… he’s…. He loves Sarah.”

Max's smile faded at that. He still wasn't sure about Mary but he hadn't expected to hear _that_. "You're right, of course, and forgive me for fuckin' asking you that but um..." he swallowed, absentmindedly gripping a ripe tomato and squeezing it to mush, "Sarah? How are you sure he loves her? That why he let you go?"

Mary smiled weakly, or seemingly so, as though the tactic worked often for her, head canted to the side a little in a gentle shrug. “I’ve seen them together. He pines for her, and she’s married, has an Omega of her own. He was too ashamed of me and him, it wouldn’t have worked.”

Dropping the destroyed tomato, a small whine came from Max's throat which he tried to cover with a cough. Why would Cal bond with him if he wanted Sarah? Was it all just to get back at her? Was Mary being honest? Everything was overwhelming him now. "When...when was the last time you saw them like that?"

“Oh, it’s been awhile, I guess. She seems really mad at him,” Mary said, rubbing her protruding stomach. She shrugged again. “She’s an Alpha, it wouldn’t work anyway.” Mary sighed. “I’m going to go inside, it was nice to meet you.” She turned on her heel and left, slowly back down the steps into the building.

Max had nodded, but was glad she left as his distress, anger and jealousy was at an all time high. So he resumed tending to the tomatoes again, albeit it angrily. He was shaking and sweating and when an Alpha came over to check on him, he just let out an Omegan growl and they left.

Cal could smell Max’s distress on his way up to the garden, having passed Mary in the stairs, he was not surprised in the least. Mary was cunning, when she had to be. Cal ran the rest of the steps, and got to Max’s side, touching his shoulder.

“Max, hey… Max?”

Max jerked at the touch, without meaning to, and looked over at Cal. He smelled his Alpha's soothing scent and it only bothered him more. It felt like a manipulation, even if it wasn't intended and was merely just biology. The Omega whined, confused and ducked his head, taking off the gloves he'd just put on after Mary had left. He stilled, and started to tremble with distress, Mary’s words playing over and over in his mind like a broken record. "Yeah?"

Cal looked Max over and wrapped his hand over the back of his neck, soothing his fingers over tight muscle there. “What happened? I saw Mary leave…”

Max's trembling subsided, which only served to further annoy him. He didn't like how easily he could be put into submission just at the hands of his Alpha's influence. Still, his emotions were chaotic, and his eyes watering. "Well for one, it's clear Mary still fucking has a thing for you, and for two she told me you are madly in love with Sarah," he snapped, though not overly loud. "Y-you, probably only bonded with me to get back at her, didn't you? I don't mean anything to you...I'm just...how could I mean anything to you? I'm just a gutter rat, a poor substitute. How could I compare to Sarah, or think I'm worthy of you?" 

Cal’s brows furrowed, his own hands trembling as he cupped his Omega’s face and kissed his lips to hush him. “Max…” he sighed, resting their heads together. “Sarah and I were a thing of the past. I’ve loved her since, but it won’t work, and when I met you, I finally felt like I could finally put that behind me, that someone else was worthy of my heart, my love.”

Max kissed Cal back, after a brief hesitation and breathed with him, looking into his blue eyes. "I'm sorry, baby, I just- well Mary said a lot of things," he whispered, trying to calm down by breathing in his Alpha's scent. "It just upset me but maybe that was part of her scheme? What a fuckin' bitch. I just love you so much..." 

“She wants what she can’t have,” Cal said, quietly, stroking his thumbs down Max’s sharp cheekbones. “Too bad for her.”

" _My_ Alpha," Max purred, closing his eyes briefly, a tear finally cascading down his cheek from everything he'd felt only a moment ago. "I'm glad everything she said was just bullshit, I shouldn't have doubted you, or us." 

“Everything is in the past, and I let the past go when I met you,” Cal whispered, aware people were watching from the corner of their eyes, but he didn’t care right now.

"Okay, I trust you, I just...overreacted. I went crazy at the thought of you still loving her, or well either one of them," Max said, quietly, holding onto Cal for dear life. "I have a problem with jealousy..." 

“It’s okay,” Cal whispered and kissed his Omega sweetly, letting out a shuddering breath, shaking himself, afraid it might be enough to lose Max. “I have a past with both, so its understandable. But it’s over.”

Max embraced Cal, after the kiss, and nuzzled into his neck, sensing that he'd been upset too. "I'm happy it is, I'd be fuckin’ lost without you," he murmured, rubbing his nose along the Alpha's gland there before chuckling, suddenly and raised up to meet Cal’s gaze. “I’m afraid that I killed a tomato though.”

Cal chuckled breathily at that, “It’s okay. Just one tomato.”

The Omega grinned, toothily, and then nipped at Cal's lips. "Ja, that's true. So did you get all your financial stuff taken care of? I'm done here mostly."

“For the most part. I’m… free for the rest of the day, to spend it with you,” Cal said with an even smile, practiced though it were.

"Okay. Cool, I'd love to spend it with you," Max smiled, genuinely, happy to be getting time with his Alpha. Admittedly, he was wanting drugs again after getting so upset, or a cigarette, but time with Cal would distract him. "I don't know much about business stuff, but if there's anything you ever need help with or want to talk, Cal, I hope you know you can." 

“I wouldn’t bother you with everything,” Cal insisted, taking Max’s hand in his own, walking him toward the stairs.

"It wouldn't be a bother, I'm your mate," Max reminded, sweetly, but wouldn't press it. He gently squeezed Cal's hand as they walked, looking over at him through his long lashes. 

“It’s not that I won’t, but that I can’t. It’s… the movement, and it’s not for prying ears,” Cal said, not wanting anything to get out, to worry anyone.

Max nodded, but he was really curious now. "Okay...sounds like some serious shit, but I won't mention it again," he promised, thumbing over the skin on Cal's hand as the went down the stairs. He decided to change the subject and made sure to speak quietly, "So...Mary said you got them a new fridge, that Sean had somehow convinced you to get it for them?"

“Mary thinks the baby could be mine, and she told Sean. They needed somethings and I’d rather that rumor not go around,” Cal sighed, shaking his head. “Besides, we’re a community that helps where we can.”

"She thinks that..." Max paused, bristling at the idea. It had been one thing he was worried about. It made sense, all of her actions, why she asked him about if he wanted to have pups with Cal and all he knew now was that he hated her. "I, what if it _is_?"

“Then I deal with it, doesn’t change she is married and you and I are mated,” Cal said, quietly. “Whatever happens, we aren’t going to lose each other.”

Max took a deep breath, his body reminding him he wasn't over his addiction yet and nodded. "Good, I don't want to...not ever," he whispered, not feeling very well all of the sudden, mostly mentally, but happy that at least he wouldn't lose Cal, which most important. 

Cal nosed in against Max’s neck gently, taking in his scent. “I promise you won’t.”

Purring, Max slid his arm around Cal's waist wanting to be close, once they were at the bottom of the stairs. "Good, baby. How do you want to spend the day? Ever go out on the town?" 

“Sometimes. Where did you want to go?” Cal asked, not sure he knew much about ‘having fun’.

"I like to play billiards, you know, stuff like that? Or we could go anywhere, a movie, a restaurant?" Max suggested, fine with any of those places but he just wanted a change of scenery, and to go have fun with his Alpha. 

“Do you… want to go have tea?” Cal asked, cautiously.

"Sure, I'd love to go have some tea," Max smiled, brightly, leaning into his mate. It wasn't something he'd normally go do, but he liked tea, and going somewhere, anywhere with Cal would be amazing. "That sounds fun. I have no idea where to find a place like that though, so I hope you do." 

“Just in town a little, there’s a place I like,” Cal said quietly, and took Max’s hand now and lead him out, keys in his pocket to the car.

"Cool," Max hummed and leaned over to peck Cal on the cheek as they walked, looking at the people they passed by. "It'll be nice to get out and do something different." 

“As compared to staying in the confines of the movement?” Cal asked, opening the car door for Max, and then shut it again. He jogged to the other side and got in, starting the car up.

"I was locked up so I'm not into being confined I guess, but I didn't mean to seem like I am not happy in the movement," Max said, sweetly, squeezing Cal's thigh. "As long as I am with you that's all I care about, baby. Sometimes I just like to get out and see things, even better being at your side."

“I.. might have to go to California, soon, to deal with a few things,” Cal mentioned, looking over at Max for a moment at a red light.

"Oh...um do you have to go alone?" Max asked, looking over at Cal with furrowed brows. He didn't like that at all, not if he couldn't go. "I could go with you, if you want?"

“You can come,” Cal said, since he was going to ask anyway. “I _want_ you to come.”

"Oh good," Max said, and smiled brightly over at Cal, rubbing his Alpha's leg, up higher towards his groin. "I'm glad you want me to come, i've never been to California and i'm sure there's _a lot_ we can do there..."

Cal swallowed thickly, casting his eyes over his Omega slowly. “I couldn't’ be apart from you, and I need to watch you.”

"I woulda missed you like fuckin’ crazy, if you'd gone without me," Max said, huskily, fingers trailing over Cal's bulge to give an appreciative but gentle squeeze. "Watch me, huh? To keep me from being a _naughty_ Omega?" The Dane chuckled softly, with a flirtatious wink at his Alpha, removing his hand entirely as to not distract him from driving. 

Cal tensed and then let out a ragged sigh. “I just need to make you’re behaved and taken care of us,” he explained.

Max bit his own lower lip, pulling it roughly through his sharp teeth, a response to his Alpha’s body language. His dark eyes roved up and down Cal's physique, to the expanse of his thick thighs and back up before casting it out onto the buildings they passed. "I know you'll take good care of me...you have already." 

“There are awful people in the world, and I don’t want you around them anymore,” Cal stated, a frenzy of jealousy mounting inside of him for a moment, sure why it happened, but it did.

The Omega canted his head back towards Cal, his long silky hair falling into amber iris'. He could smell the shift, feel the power in his tone, so much so that he had to suppress a whimper. "Then I won't be," he said, gently, covering his mate's free hand with his own, "I'll be next to you." 

“Thank you,” Cal said, as he parked them around the corner from a busy tea shop. He leaned over and cupped Max’s face, and kissed him sweetly, rubbing thumbs over sharp cheekbones. “I love you, Max. I… _need_ you.”

Max melted into the kiss, lost in Cal's eyes, in his gentle caress. He swallowed and leaned forward to take his Alpha's mouth again for another kiss. "I love you too...need and want you, more than _any_ fuckin' thing, baby."

Cal breathed out shakily, and let go, slowly. He licked his lips once, nodding his head. “Let’s have tea and then we can set up airflight arrangements.”

Grinned, Max took off his seat belt, and shook his head in agreement. "That sounds cool, let's do it." He gave his Alpha a once over and then opened his door, stepping out and waiting for Cal so they could go inside the tea shop. The Omega was excited, his mind a rush thinking of all of the fun things they might do and see once in California. "I sorta want something sweet too, while we're here." 

“Sweet?” Cal asked, taking Max’s hand. He kissed his knuckles. “Such as?”

"Yeah, you know, apart from you," Max blushed, his heart picking up its pace at the kiss. "Maybe a pastry or something?" 

“They have those here,” Cal said, and walked them into the tea place, where he sat them at a table and looked at the table menu, very simple. “We’ll get a simple herbal cinnamon tea I think. What do you want to eat?”

Max looked up from the menu and pursed his lips, contemplating. "I'd love a cheese danish, maybe...the tea sounds good too," he hummed, looking around the shop as he drummed his fingers lightly on the table. "Are you gonna have something to eat?"

“It’s not vegan,” Cal said, shrugging. “You can have the one treat, I won’t tell.”

"I can? Okay, awesome!" The Omega leaned forward, and grinned, toothily, mirth and youthful mischief in his eyes. "It'll be our little secret then, hm, baby?" 

“Don’t expect it often, we try to keep our bodies pure from everything like that,” Cal said, quietly, and when the waitress came over, he ordered a pot of the tea to share, and Max’s pastry.

"Okay," Max nodded, sitting back up straight and watching Cal's every move. He hardly noticed the waitress coming and going. "So when was the last time you came here and got to get out for a bit?"

“I come here alone when I need time away from everything,” Cal said, shrugging his shoulder and then set them back straight, hands in his lap. “No one ever comes with me.”

Max looked at Cal sympathetically, running a withdrawal laden hand through his long hair. He chewed his lower lip and then smiled, warmly at his mate. "Well, now you don't have to fucking worry about that, right? Their loss, in all honesty." 

Cal smiled meekly. “I suppose so.”

Max ran his foot up Cal's calf, hidden in the dark under the table, rubbing there with the clean side of his boot. He couldn't help but want to be in almost constant contact with his Alpha, needing him like his lungs required air. In his periphery he saw the waitress coming, nearing, so his next words were whispered, "You're so sexy..."

Cal smiled at that, almost bashfully, as their tea pot was set down and two mugs, and the pastry set in front of max. She left again, and Cal gave his mate a look. “What I need to do in California is movement related, can I trust you won’t distract me?”

Huffing, with a playful pout, Max moved his foot and toyed with his saucer. "I'll keep my legs closed and hands to myself, if that's what you need," he chuckled and picked up his pastry. He took a big bite, pointed teeth tearing through it hungrily before finishing his thought with a full mouth, "Doesn't mean I won't be tempted as hell to do that very thing though..."

“So long as you only do it for me when we’re free and alone,” Cal pointed out, pouring them each a cup of tea.

"Ja, of course," Max says, sipping his tea, and then taking another bite of his pastry. "What business do you have to do there, if I can ask?" 

“Funding,” Cal said as he blew on his tea, looking at the table and not his mate.

"Oh..." Max said, looking at Cal with furrowed brows. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to be nosey..." 

“I… bought that building we live in for too much, and the IRS wants to take the compound for taxes on it, so… I’m… going to try and convince a woman she wants to help,” Cal explained, very very quietly.

Max nodded, slowly, nibbling on his own lower lip. He could sense his Alpha upset and he wanted to soothe him. "Shit...I want to help if I can somehow, I mean I dunno how, but I will if you need me too."

Cal shook his head, sipping his hot tea. “It’s my mess, I’ll figure something out.”

The young Omega took another few drinks of tea and then popped the rest of the danish into his mouth. It was so good and hit the spot, but still, he was concerned for Cal. After swallowing he leaned forward, chin on the backs of his hands. "Okay...just remember you're not alone anymore, yeah?"

Cal nodded, hands around his tea cup. “Sarah is mad. I don't blame her, I could put everyone out on the street…”

"Fuck her," Max said, without meaning too, feeling protective of his mate. "I just...I think the Light will provide, somehow, yanno?" he offered, sympathetically, drinking the rest of his tea. "Shit happens and I don't know all of the details but I see everything that you've been doing for the movement. You help people, you helped _me_."

“I know, I do. I-I want to help, to continue to keep helping,” Cal said, looking down into his mug. “I just have to fix this first.”

Max slid his chair next to Cal and wrapped his arm around his Alpha's shoulders, scenting and nuzzling him. "You will, baby," he whispered, with a calming purr, "you are magnificent, and can do anything you fuckin' set your mind to...I've seen it." 

“Maybe,” Cal said with less confidence than he usually had in this area.

"I'll have faith for us both then." The Omega could see he wasn't helping much, but hoped that maybe being California would do them both some good. Leaning into Cal, he looked up at him through his lashes and sighed, "Want more tea, or are you ready to get out of here?" 

Cal put money down on the table and slid off the stool and grabbed his Omega’s hand. “We can go.”

"Okay," Max said, and with his hand in Cal's, he followed him out of the shop. He sensed something in his mate, something brewing maybe, he wasn't quite sure in all honesty but the whole outing had taken a turn. "Where are we going now?" 

“Where would you like to go?” Cal asked, not heading for the car, but anywhere to just… not think about his fuck ups.

"What about Coney Island?" Max suggested, thinking of how the beach, and amusement park would be a blast. It wasn't close but he wanted to take his Alpha's mind off his troubles, even if they didn't go there. "Ever indulged like that? Ridden rides till you wanted to fucking puke? It's fun as hell."

“I’ve never been,” Cal said, cautiously. He shrugged his shoulder. “Rides?”

"Yeah, rides, good food, games, the beach...lotsa stuff," Max grinned, releasing Cal's hand to take his arm instead, feeling the solid muscle there. "We don't haveta go there, I know we are heading to California real fucking soon anyways, baby." 

“We should get back and pack for the trip,” Cal said, feeling that was the wisest choice, than wasting time doing things so… frivolous.

"Maybe another time," Max agreed, and let Cal lead them back to his car. He was young and loved to do fun things, but as the mate of such an important movement, he knew responsibility was first. Besides, he couldn't help but think that there might be some cool shit to do in California. 

They got back to the car and Cal opened Max’s door for him and then shut it. He jogged around and got in, starting it up. It didn’t take long to get back to the center, and he parked in their designated spot.

The Omega leaned in to peck Cal's cheek before undoing his belt and got out. Once his Alpha had done the same, he took his hand and wondered to himself was in the vast mystery of the movement leader's mind. There was still so much he felt like his mate withheld. "When do you think we'll be leaving?" he asked, instead of asking what he really wanted to. 

“In the morning,” Cal said, walking with Max back into the center. “I need to buy us tickets, but it shouldn’t be an issue.”

"Ok, ja, that works," Max nodded, and ran his hand through long chocolate tresses. When they walked inside, the Omega saw Mary, and bristled, but said nothing. 

Mary smiled at Cal, but Cal paid her no more mind, not after what she’d said. He lead Max to his office and from there back to his room. “I’m sorry she’d made it awkward.”

"It's ok..." Max said, quietly, plopping down in a chair, and canting his head up to Cal. In his mind, he thought about the pup she was carrying, wondered if it belonged to his Alpha, and it made his heartache with unspoken sadness. "She just wants what we have, wants you." 

“She should have thought about that,” Cal said with a shake of his head and went to open the blinds. “I’m happy now. With you, us…”

"I'm fucking glad to hear that, min elskede," Max said, watching Cal with rapt attention as he lolled his head back into the chair. "She even asked me if you and I were going to have pups...or well, if _I_ wanted them."

“That was… rude of her,” Cal sighed, shifting his jaw. “I’d talk to her about it, but I think it’s best to leave well enough alone.” 

"Yeah...I'd rather you didn't, or if you do, I'd like to be there," Max mumbled, not loving the idea of them chatting alone. It wasn't that he didn't trust Cal, he just didn't trust her. "You're right though, best to leave that bitch alone." 

Cal nodded and took a seat on the mattress, with a sigh. “I won’t talk to her.”

"I mean I wouldn't tell you what to do, but I appreciate it," Max said and then got up and walked over to sit next to Cal, leaning his head on his shoulder as he looked up at him. "You seem bothered, baby. It's more than Mary, right? Is it about what you said at the tea shop?" 

“Yeah, there’s a lot riding on me right now,” Cal said, cupping Max’s face where he leaned on him. “I don’t mean to worry you.”

"I will always worry about you," Max said, softly, looking into Cal's eyes. "And I still want to help, even if it's just somethin' small." 

Pondering that, Cal wrapped his arms around Max, scenting him. “Okay. We’ll go together.”


End file.
